TRAVELER
by illminded
Summary: A novelization of the TV series , TRAVELER follows two Yale graduates on the run from the U.S. government. Framed by their best friend Will Traveler for the bombing of an art museum, Jay Burchell and Tyler Fog are forced to prove their innocence.
1. Chapter 1: The Road

**Chapter 1: The Road**

The New York air was arid and chilly. People from all walks of life strolled through the long, busy streets of the city, passing the day by. A flock of pigeons shuffled around and flew up into the sky as the feet of two college boys stomped past them. The two boys were dressed in fairly heavy jackets and jeans and carried around backpacks as they stormed through the streets of NYC. With terrified looks on their faces, the two boys ran as if their lives depended on it. Everyone they past by turned their heads to watch them as they scrambled towards an upscale Manhattan hotel. As they entered the chic hotel, they didn't bother to stop until they reached the confines of their hotel room. One of the boys – the one with short, black hair – shoved a keycard into the slot and pushed the door open.

Slamming the door shut behind them, the two boys hurried into the room and checked the TV. The brown-haired boy hastily grabbed the remote control off the couch and jabbed at the 'on' button. The news channel came up broadcasting reports of a bombing at a museum and showed an image of an old, gray building up in flames and smoke.

"Jay!" the brown-haired boy shouted to the other boy behind him who was desperately trying to get a hold of someone on the phone.

"We're still waiting for a report on casualties and details are hard to come by, but police are not ruling out the use of a bomb. Two men were seen fleeing the scene," the female reporter announced.

"They're talking about us! She's talking about us!" the brown-haired boy repeated.

"I know! I know, Tyler! Calm down!" Jay told his friend.

Tyler sunk into the couch and rubbed his face. Breathing heavily and sweating profusely, he sighed and licked his dry lips. Though they were both frightened and panicked, Jay tried his best to remain level-headed and calm. He walked over to the window then back over to Tyler; he was obviously thinking up a plan. It was hard to think, though, as the police sirens wailed, magnifying their fear.

"Where the hell is Will?" Jay wondered as he attempted to dial the number on his phone again.

"Will is dead!" Tyler screamed, grabbing at his feathery brown hair.

"We don't know that!" Jay retorted, hoping whoever Will was was still alive.

"He was in there!"

"We don't know that!" Jay said once again. "Look, we haven't done anything wrong. Let's just take a breath then go to the police. Okay? They can handle this!"

As Jay attempted to comfort his unnerved friend, Tyler clenched his palm over his mouth so as to keep his insides from rushing up. However, seconds later, he jumped to his feet and headed towards the bathroom. Left alone in the living room of their hotel suite, Jay nervously ran his fingers through his soft black hair. Glancing down, he saw the book _On the Road_ by Jack Kerouac; it was a famous book about a man and his friend who take a road trip through America. It was the basis for all this, for their road trip. Jay quietly picked up the book as his eyes glazed and his mind wandered back to the previous day.

Yale Graduate Housing – One Day Ago

Outside a blue, two-story house in New Haven, Connecticut, Jay Burchell grabbed his cellphone from the front seat of Tyler's blue SUV. His friend, Will – a blue-eyed young man with slicked back, dark brown hair – handed him a book. Slung around his shoulder was a large backpack full of his things.

"Our guide book," Will said as he handed Jay the novel. "Jack Kerouac wrote the great American novel in less than three weeks! The guy didn't need to invent the adventures of Dean Moriarty and Sal Paradise, he lived them!"

"They teach you that at Chemical Engineering?" Tyler teased as he sent a message on his fancy cellphone.

Snatching his friend's phone out of his hands, Will pocketed it and replied, "I am not a chemical engineer for the next two months. And you aren't a venture capitalist and you are definitely not a lawyer. No, for the next two months we are professional vagabonds – Moriarty and Paradise living between the east of our youth -"

"And the west of our future," Jay finished for him as he read from the back of the book.

"Exactly."

Grabbing both of his friends by their shoulders, Will put his arms around them and stared up at the house which the three of them lived in for two years. It was a great two years filled with fun and long-lasting memories none of them hoped to forget. On the other hand, it was finally time to leave. As the three college graduates looked up at their former home, Will offered a eulogy, "Well, looks like it's time to say goodbye to the castle."

The three friends stood in front of their "castle" for a moment of silence until Will shoved both his friends forward and shouted, "Shotgun!"

Playfully laughing, he ran around the SUV to the passenger seat while Jay and Tyler argued over who was driving. Jay walked towards the driver's seat, but Tyler teasingly shoved him out of the way and dangled the car keys in front of him. As Jay mourned his loss, Tyler got into the front seat and strapped in his seatbelt. Jay opened the door to the back seat and tossed his backpack inside. Before he could get in, though, Tyler stepped on the gas pedal, moving the car forward several feet.

"C'mon guys," Jay pleaded as he reached for the car door.

Tyler stopped the car, but only long enough for Jay to get the door open. Forcing Jay to chase the car, Tyler and Will sat beside one another enjoying a laugh.

"Hey, c'mon! We're adults now! Be mature," Jay told his friends.

As Tyler stopped the car, Will looked out from his window and shrugged, "Okay, okay, we're just kiddin'."

However, Tyler drove onwards once more while Jay reached for the car door. "Quit playing games, guys!" Jay shouted, getting annoyed. Unfortunately, his friends continued tormenting him till they finally got to the end of the block and Jay hopped into the back seat.

After hours of driving, the three friends finally reached New York City, the Big Apple, the City that Never Sleeps. Tyler stopped the SUV in front of a grandiose hotel that no college students could have afforded. One of the concierges welcomed them to the city as the three friends stepped out of their cars.

"Wow! You booked us here?" Jay asked as he stared up at the swanky, extravagant hotel.

"I figured it's our last night to live like kings. After this, it's all motels and camp grounds all the way to San Francisco!" Will replied as he took the car keys from a valet. "You guys go ahead and check in. I'll go park the car."

"They got valet," Tyler noted.

"I know a place on 51st that's half the price. Don't worry; I'll be back in a sec," Will replied as he got into the driver's seat.

While Will drove away to park their car, Jay and Tyler headed up to their suite. A porter carried the rest of their bags up to the room while Jay and Tyler carried their own backpacks. The hotel suite Will had booked for them was quite ritzy; it had a living and dining room, three separate bedrooms, and a bathroom with a bathtub and shower installed. There was a fine, suede couch in the middle of the living room along with a carved wooden coffee table and a wide-screen TV. Jay inspected one of the rooms and discovered it came with a king-sized bed, a mini bar, a closet, and even a TV. He smiled and tapped the wall as he returned to the living room, where the Porter and Tyler were.

The tall, burly, African-American man set the luggage down on the floor and asked, "Are you gentlemen in town for business or pleasure?" There was a genuine kindness in his voice as he looked up at the two boys and smiled.

"Definitely pleasure," Tyler answered as he grabbed a champaign bottle from an iced bucket on the coffee table.

"You on a road trip?" the Porter asked. Noticing he had piqued the boys' curiosity and paranoia, he explained himself. "I can tell from the bags. I like to guess where our guests are headed based on their luggage."

"That's a cool trick," Jay commented as he reached into his pocket for a bill.

"Yeah, and we plan on starting our trip with a bang. So, if you can arrange a limo for us this evening, we'd be in your debt," Tyler interceded, putting his arm around the Porter. He handed the man a fifty dollar bill and flashed him a big, toothy grin.

Smiling back, the Porter replied, "Of course sir. The concierges will have a car waiting."

Tyler slapped the Porter on the shoulder as he turned and left. Jay waved a 'goodbye' to the kind man as Tyler walked past him to pick up the champaign bottle he was inspecting earlier.

"You know you don't have to pay for everything," Jay told his friend.

"Don't you remember? We said Will would handle the planning, I would cover major expenses, and you would keep us out of trouble. And of the three, I'd say you got the hardest job," Tyler reminded Jay as he popped open a bottle of champaign.

Later than evening, the boys spent their night relaxing and having fun at a popular Manhattan nightclub. With a sprawling bar and beautiful women all over the place, the boys were sure to have a night of festivity. The three boys were dressed fairly nicely; Tyler wore a maroon dress shirt, Jay wore a navy blue dress shirt, and Will wore a gray t-shirt under a black sports jacket. As Tyler sat at the bar enjoying the company of several gorgeous women, Jay and Will sat inattentively on a couch nursing drinks. In Will's hands was a video camera, which he pointed at Jay's face. The boys had to yell in order to speak to one another because the music was so loud. The booming bass pounded the speakers set all around the club while the clubbers' feet stamped the floor.

"You take that thing everywhere?" Jay asked, pointing out Will's camera.

"You'll thank me for this someday!" Will exclaimed as he tried to get a shot of Jay, who incessantly pushed the camera out of his face.

"Hey, ladies, we didn't come to the most exclusive club in Manhattan to play wallflower!" Tyler interrupted, slamming his hands on the couch. "Now, I've got three interns from Vogue over there looking for dance partners, but if we don't act fast they'll be taken off the market."

"Sorry, but some of us have girlfriends!" Jay protested.

"No you, Jay, have a girlfriend, but if you take advantage of your time with me tonight and you might just make that girlfriends," Tyler accosted him.

Jay grimaced at Tyler as his cellphone began to ring. He reached for it, but Tyler's quick hands snatched it from him before he could answer.

"Oh speak of the devil!" Tyler remarked as he saw Kim's name on the cellphone.

"Hey, give it back!" Jay ordered, trying to take his phone back.

"Hold on. You'll thank me for this," Tyler said, trying to calm Jay down, as he answered the phone. "Hi, Kim! It's Tyler. Jay's gonna call you back in like – what – two months. Okay. Bye."

"What the hell man?" Jay asked with a pissed off look on his face.

Tyler tossed the phone back to his friend and defensively waved his hands in front of him. "I'm just doing that for you, Jay. These are your last two months of freedom! You need to enjoy them! Stop worrying about the old ball-and-chain at home and enjoy yourself for once."

"We'll be there in a minute," Will negotiated.

"One minute!" Tyler repeated as he got up and left. "I'll be waiting!"

With Tyler gone, Will turned to Jay and said, "That's the third time she's called. Doesn't want you to go on this trip, huh?"

Jay shook his head and muttered, "She's not the only one having second thoughts."

Nodding, Will took a sip of his drink, closed his video camera, and sat back against the soft couch. "Gotta see the world before you can change it, right?"

"Yeah, I gotta pay off twenty-thousand in loans too."

"Well, I'm sure the bank of Tyler would be happy to help. Cha-ching!" Will commented.

"Don't even start with that."

"He's just pushing your buttons, man. We all wanna get the most out of this trip, right?"

"Sure," Jay answered hesitantly.

Noticing the doubt in his voice, Will added, "Jay, c'mon, you're doing the right thing here. A trip like this – you take time to step off the path and see what really makes this country tick – it could change your life."

Jay nodded and genuinely smiled. With his words seemingly getting through Jay's thick skull, Will said, "Alright? Now, do whatever damage control you gotta do and come out here and get your groove on!"

Playfully dancing in front of Jay, Will got up off the couch and headed towards Tyler. Laughing, Jay shoved his friend forward and teased him for looking like such an idiot. He shook his head and smiled wholeheartedly as he called Kim back.

The next day, the bright, orange, morning sun rose high above the bustling city. In their ritzy hotel suite, Tyler had fallen asleep on the suede couch, his face planted on the arm of the couch. He was still in the clothes he wore the night before and on the ground beside him was an empty bottle of liquor. As his languid body heaved up and down, Will came quietly from behind and grabbed one of the throw pillows by Tyler's feet.

"Wake up call!" he chanted as he slammed the pillow down against Tyler's head. A groan escaped Tyler's lips as he grabbed the side of his head and proceeded to sit up. Tapping his hands against Tyler's back, Will added, "Rise and shine. We got a lot to do today."

Walking across the living room floor, Will stood beside Jay who was performing his daily routine. Every morning after he woke up, Jay also did a set of one-hundred sit-ups followed by one-hundred push-ups. He counted to one hundred and stopped. Laying down chest first on the carpet for a moment, Jay turned over and looked up at his friend.

"If you're done, I have an unforgettable way to start our trip," Will said with a mischievous smile on his face.

Sitting up, Jay smiled and shook his head. The expression on his face said he knew whatever Will's idea was, it was definitely going to cause some trouble.

Once the three friends were dressed up and ready to go, they headed down to the Drexler Museum, New York's oldest art museum. It was an enormous, stone palace surrounded by flights of stairs and filled with various forms of art. A banner reading 'The Presidential Collection' hung over the front entrance of the building. At the foot of the front staircase, Will, Jay, and Tyler stood beside a hotdog vendor. Jay squeezed a trail of ketchup onto his hotdog and chomped down on it as Will began to explain his little idea.

"Will can I just say how proud of you I am right now," Tyler told his friend as he chewed on a piece of his hotdog.

"Rumor is that Kerouac streaked this place back in '47 as a screw-you to New York establishment," Will said, squeezing mustard onto his hotdog.

"This is genius. My grandmother used to drag me here when I was a little kid like once a month," Tyler replied.

"I figure we race to the top, first one out doesn't have to drive to Chicago."

"What – like that med school prank?"

"Yeah, except we'll actually have clothes on and we'll be using roller blades instead of wheelchairs," Will said matter-of-factly.

"That was like two years ago. We're not in grad anymore," Jay warned his friends.

"Here we go again," Tyler sighed.

"Look, you said it was my job to keep us out of trouble. Things are a little different now," Jay replied.

"Jay, it's a prank. The worst were gonna get is a slap on the wrist," Will said, trying to persuade his friend to go along with the idea.

"Or a misdemeanor," Jay rebutted.

"So what if we get in a little bit of trouble?"

"Tyler, there's a difference between getting hired by a major law firm and going to work for your dad."

"You know what, Jay? Wake up! Because in two months, that law firm is gonna run your life and this might be your last chance to actually do something memorable with your life."

"Whoa! Whoa!" Will shouted as he played peace-keeper between his two friends. "If we do this thing, we're gonna do it together, okay? We said that from day one on this trip."

"So you're putting this on me now?" Jay asked.

"If you're out, we all are," Will replied.

Jay glanced back and forth between his friends. Will took a bite out of his hotdog and gave Jay a knowing smile. Tyler on the other hand looked at his friend with arrogance as if taunting him. Grinning, Jay took a step towards Tyler and said, "If I win, Tyler keeps his mouth shut about Kim for the rest of the trip."

"Oh it is on! It is on my friend!" Tyler barked as he finished his hotdog. Mockingly, Jay took a giant bite out of his hotdog and ate it with his mouth open in front of Tyler.

Chuckling, Will slapped both his friends in the chest and made a run for the Drexler Museum entrance. Jay and Tyler followed quickly behind, shoving each other as they raced to the top of the stairs. Inside the museum, the three friends headed to the upper-most level of the building. Surveying the guards and exits as he readied his video camera, Will watched his two friends strap in their rollerblades.

"Haven't done this since hockey season," Jay muttered as he strapped on the laces of his blades.

"No, don't make excuses," Tyler teased him. "It's just like riding a bike."

"Okay, you guys head down first. I'll be right behind you videotaping the whole thing," Will said as he turned on his camera.

"What if we split up?" Jay asked.

"We'll meet outside in the northeast corner."

"Alright! I'm in!" Tyler cheered as he finished strapping his rollerblades onto his feet.

Standing atop the highest set of stairs, Jay and Tyler both grabbed opposite sides of the gold railing. Making sure none of the guards were watching, they looked at Will to make the starting announcement. Pointing the video camera at his best friends' faces, Will nodded to them and said, "Good luck."

Glancing at each other, Jay and Tyler meet eye and eye and smiled. Excited, the two boys nodded at one another and tore down the stairs on their skates. As his two friends raced down the stairs and around the corner, the smile on Will's face disappeared, replaced by an almost sad visage, and he shut off his camera.

The sound of Jay and Tyler's roaring skates disrupted the silent ambiance of the museum. Tearing through the crowded museum, Jay and Tyler startled bystanders and museum goers wherever they went. Tyler dodged a man walking past him as he turned back to look at Jay, who was only mere inches away. Slowing down a little, the two boys grabbed the railing along the staircase and noisily made their way down. Landing in front of a group of tourists, the boys laughed at one another and continued their race down a second flight of stairs. The people at the bottom of the steps were forced to jump out of the way as Tyler landed in front of them with Jay close behind. Smiling at his imminent victory, Tyler spun around an old man looking at a painting and sped down a hall. Behind him, Jay did his best to catch up and grabbed at a wall as he almost fell. Though everyone's attention was on the two boys skating through the museum, it quickly changed to the ringing fire alarm.

Jay and Tyler both came to a stop and looked around as the fire alarm continued to sound. From the end of the hallway, a guard ran around the corner and hollered at them. Chuckling happily, the two boys turned and made a run for it. As Jay and Tyler escaped from the guard, they passed by dozens of people making their way towards the nearest exit. Jay and Tyler both fell as they skated around a corner and ran into a large group of people. Helping one another up, the two boys raced around the crowd and quickly rolled down the hallway. Seeing the exit only a few yards away, Tyler pushed through the people attempting to get out while Jay held onto the strap of his backpack.

"Excuse us! Sorry!" Tyler yelled as he hurried towards the door.

Pushing their way through the front door, Tyler and Jay cautiously headed down the stone staircase along with others fleeing from the museum. A few seconds later, the guard appeared from the museum and looked around for the two pranksters. Unfortunately for him, they had gotten away, disappeared into the thick crowd of bystanders stampeding out of the Drexler.

At the northeast corner of the museum, Tyler and Jay skated to a stop. Holding onto one of the columns, Tyler stopped and took off his backpack. He reached down to take off his skates while Jay sat on the ground to unstrap his.

"Huh? Huh!? How was that?" Tyler triumphantly cheered.

"Not bad," Jay admitted as he began to put on his sneakers.

"Not bad? That was awesome!" Tyler corrected him. "By the way, you're driving to Chi-Town."

"No way! That was blatant interference!"

"No, I was first through the door," Tyler laughed.

Jay vehemently shook his head as he reached for his cellphone and dialed Will's number. Before he could even say hello, Will asked, "Did you get out?"

"Will?"

"Did you get out?" Will pressed.

"Yeah, we're at the northeast corner. Where are you?" Jay asked. Behind him, Tyler stood up and raised his arms in the air.

"I'm sorry I had to do this," Will said gravely.

The smiling, cheerful looks on Jay and Tyler's faces began to fade away. Jay's excited disposition changed into a worried one while Tyler's wide grin contorted into an expression of bafflement.

"Do what?" Jay wanted to know.

There was a moment of silence then suddenly a deafening explosion erupted behind them. The thunderous roar of the explosion rocked everything around, causing Jay and Tyler to fall on their feet. Shards of glass and shattered stone rocketed away from the Drexler Museum as people all around the building collapsed onto the ground. Rising from the debris around them, Jay and Tyler looked up to see pillars of black smoke and raging fires rise from the decimated museum. It felt as if something huge was blocking their ears and every sound that came to them was drowned out. Black soot permeated their faces and their hair was disheveled. Staring at the monstrous sight before them with wide eyes, they couldn't think about anything else but their friend.

Jay muttered Will's name into his cellphone, but when no answer came, he anxiously screamed, "Will!"

After hysterically running through the streets of Manhattan, Jay and Tyler finally reached their hotel room. Short of breath, they watched the news as news channels everywhere reported the Drexler Bombing. Live news coverage showed police cars sitting outside the ruins of the old museum while firemen raced out of their red trucks and hosed down the burning building. There were several ambulances at the scene, wheeling a few people away on stretchers.

"Manhattan is locking its doors. All public transportation is temporarily suspended and in a city of four-point-five million commuters, tensions are high," one reporter said.

"The east wing of New York's oldest art museum is still burning. Three guards have been rushed to Bellevue Hospital and are in critical condition, but miraculously, no casualties have been counted," another newscaster announced.

"All of Will's stuff is gone! There's no way he could've beaten us back here!" Tyler nervously yelled as he ripped off his jacket.

"This footage from the Drexler security video clearly shows two men fleeing the museum. They appear to be using rollerblades. The suspects are Caucasian in their late twenties. Authorities are asking anyone with information to please call the city's terrorism hotline."

"They're calling us terrorists!" Tyler angrily said to Jay. He quickly headed over to his room and grabbed his belongings. Unzipping his backpack, he began to throw everything inside it.

"What are you doing?"

"Get changed!" Tyler replied, throwing a jacket to Jay. "My dad's got a great lawyer downtown – "

"We got a lawyer right here!" Jay said defensively.

"It's a real lawyer!"

"I am a real lawyer!" Jay responded, apparently agitated.

"Well then stop pretending that this isn't happening, Jay! Will apologized right before the museum exploded! By the time we get back here, all his stuff's gone and our faces are on TV!"

"What are you trying to say?" Jay asked, not believing his friend was actually blaming their other friend for what was happening. "You think Will framed us for this? There's no reason our best friend – the guy we've lived with for two years – would do this!"

"Well, I'd be happy to ask him what he was thinking, but he's not here now, is he?" Tyler replied sarcastically.

"Then we call the cops and let them look for him!" Jay suggested. When he realized Tyler wouldn't listen, he walked over to his friend and forcefully turned him around. "C'mon! This is our friend we're talking about."

New York FBI Field Office

The New York Field Office at One Federal Plaza was a rather big building. It was a couple stories high lined with one-way windows that reflected the gray sky. Inside were hundreds of FBI agents doing their best to track down the terrorists who blew up the Drexler only moments ago. In the center of the bullpen – the Field Office's center of operations – was Special Agent-in-Charge Fred Chambers. Agent Chambers was a tall, Caucasian man with a neat haircut that was slicked back and deep blue eyes. Ever the professional, he was always wearing a suit. Today, he was wearing an all black outfit with a white dress shirt underneath and a blue and red tie. Sitting down beside him was his second-in-command – a Hispanic agent by the name of Guillermo Borjes. Agent Borjes was a few inches shorter than Chambers and had a squarer face with a lean, athletic body. He wore a navy blue suit with a matching black tie. Sitting across from him at the table was an African-American woman named Jan Marlow. Agent Marlow was another member of the FBI team tasked with tracking down and apprehending the suspected terrorists. She was a short, lean woman with long, wavy, black hair and gleaming, brown eyes. Dressed in a pinstripe blouse and slacks, she sat at the table with a pen and notepad.

"This is Special Agent-in-Charge Fred Chambers," he introduced himself. "I understand I'm speaking to one of the suspects in the Drexler Museum bombing."

"Yes, this is Jay Burchell."

Chambers pressed down on a button on the telephone receiver and turned to his agents at the computers. Nodding, he said, "Start a workup."

His agents nodded in response and began triangulating Jay's location and finding information on him.

"I appreciate you for calling, Mr. Burchell. You're doing the right thing by contacting us."

"I want to make it clear that we had nothing to do with the bombing. We think a friend of ours was in the building when it exploded. His name's Will Traveler. He called us just before the bomb went off. If he's still alive, maybe he can help – he might've seen something useful," Jay said."

"So there's a third suspect?" Chambers asked.

"Y-yes, no I mean – " Jay stuttered. "Listen, I know how this sounds, but we were just rollerblading through the museum – it was just a prank."

"A prank that ended with one of the oldest and most valuable art museums in the city erupting in flames?"

"No! We had nothing to do with the bomb – I told you that!" Jay shouted. "It was just a prank!"

"A prank you pulled just before the museum exploded."

"It was an innocent joke!" Jay retorted. "And I'm pretty sure that FBI procedure does not allow you to put our faces on TV without a reasonable basis for suspicion!"

Agent Chambers sighed, apparently agitated with Jay Burchell. He looked down at Agent Marlow and noticed she had scribbled something into her notepad. Chambers turned the notepad so he could read it; scrawled across the page was 'lawyer?'.

"I suggest you calm down, Mr. Burchell," Chambers recommended. Behind him, the agents at the computer joined in a congratulatory sigh as they finally narrowed the location of the call. Turning, Chambers saw one of the men give him a thumbs up.

"Got him at Park Avenue between 49th and 54th," one of the agents informed Chambers.

"Keep him on the phone," Chambers whispered to Marlow as he slid the phone monitor towards her.

"Mr. Burchell, this is Special Agent Jan Marlow. I was curious if you were a lawyer?" Agent Marlow stalled.

At the hotel, Jay answered Marlow's question as Tyler leaned against the doorframe of his bedroom talking on his own cellphone. He appeared quite agitated; his hair was a mess, his body was shaking, and he continuously bit at her fingertips.

"Son, what the hell did I just see on TV?" Tyler's father, Carlton Fog, asked worriedly.

"Dad, listen to me, I can explain," Tyler said, trying to calm his father down.

Behind Tyler, Jay said into the phone, "Look I called to help, to tell you our friend was in the building. Please, just check the security tapes. He's about 5'10" wearing a blue track jacket."

"Got him!" one of the agents triumphantly yelled. Chambers quickly strode over to the agent's computer and hovered over his shoulder. He stared at the computer screen as the agent read, "Got him. Jason Burchell, Room 509, Worcester Park Hotel."

"How far out are our nearest units?" Agent Chambers wanted to know.

"Less than two minutes."

Glancing over at Agent Marlow, Chambers grabbed her attention and made a 'V' sign with his fingers, indicating she needed to keep him on the line for two more minutes. Agent Marlow nodded her head and continued speaking to Jay. It was getting tougher and tougher to keep him on the line as he got more scared and nervous about the situation.

"Alright, we'll check the tapes again. How does that sound?" Marlow said.

"Good."

Manhattan, NY Worcester Park Hotel

Back at the hotel room, Tyler stood beside the window, still speaking to his father. "Yesterday, over ten million shares of Holloway Insurance were sold on the stock market. Do you know what they cover?" Carlton Fog asked his son.

"Yeah, yeah, they specialize in fine art," Tyler replied.

"The Drexler Foundation to be exact. That means that somebody somewhere knew this was going to happen."

"Well, what should we do? Jay wants us to go to the cops," Tyler frantically asked.

"That isn't an option. If your faces are on TV then it isn't an accident."

"But Dad we weren't involved!"

"That hasn't stopped the authorities from screwing this family before. Innocent or not, you and Jay could be in very big trouble – your lives may even be in danger."

Sifting his fingers through his hair, Tyler sighed and leaned against the window. Moving aside the curtains with his hand, he noticed a stream of police cars – their sirens wailing as they barreled down the street. Tyler's eyes widened and he turned to grab Jay. "Dad, I'll call you back!" he shouted.

Jay turned, his hand still on the phone, and asked, "What? What is it?"

"Look outside," Tyler whispered back.

"Are those cars for us?" Jay, in awe, asked Agent Chambers.

"Burchell, this is Fred Chambers. You should come in; we can help you," Chambers replied, attempting to persuade Jay.

"No! I told you, you've got the wrong guys!" Jay screamed. Before he could say anymore, Tyler snatched the phone from him and closed it.

"It's time to go!" he told his friend. "I just talked to my dad. This is bigger than Will; people in very high places knew something was going to happen today. We have to get out of here, out of the city."

"If we run, we'll look guilty!"

"It's a little too late for that!" Tyler retorted as he grabbed his backpack. Suddenly the phone started to ring; however, neither Jay nor Tyler went to answer it. Turning to his friend, Tyler said, "Someone put our faces on TV; someone wants us to take the blame for this!"

Passing by his friend, Tyler grabbed the door handle and looked at Jay. "Jay, you of all people know that this can happen."

"We find Will," Jay suggested, spinning around, "He's the only one who can back up our alibi."

"Whatever gets you out of this room."

Sighing, Jay reached for his jacket and his backpack and joined his friend at the door. Tyler turned the doorknob a little and stared out through the peephole. There was no one outside the room, at least not yet. Looking down both sides of the hallway, Jay and Tyler closed the door behind them and hurried down the hall. The two boys quickly walked down the hallways, but stopped once they found a map pinned to a wall. Jay grabbed the map and took it with them as they headed for the nearest exit. Outside the hotel, a string of cop cars skidded to a stop at the front entrance and dozens of police officers flooded into the Worcester Park Hotel.

As Jay and Tyler read the map, a hotel security guard popped out of the elevator. He immediately noticed Jay and Tyler and shouted for them to stop. Panicking, Jay and Tyler shoved a door open, leading them into the hotel's staircase. They sprinted down the long flight of steps as a group of security guards chased after them. Luckily, Jay and Tyler were much quicker than the guards; they easily evaded them and were about to exit the staircase. However, Jay grabbed Tyler before he could open the door. Standing on the sides of the door, Jay looked through the curtains and saw a pair of FBI agents walking down the hallway. Jay and Tyler drew back and placed their backs against the wall, hoping the agents didn't notice them. Their hearts thumping with every step the guards and cops above and under them made, they anxiously waited for the FBI agents to disappear. A few seconds later, Jay looked outside again to see the agents had gone. Immediately, he and Tyler shot out of the staircase and ran through the hallway. Cautiously, they looked around to see where they should go. The two boys were about to head down a hallway, but spotted another FBI agent coming towards them. With sweat running down their backs, Jay and Tyler ran towards the closest door they could find. It led them into a janitorial closet. Taking refuge behind a laundry bin and cleaning supplies, Jay and Tyler crouched down and went through their options.

"Any more ideas?" Jay asked Tyler.

"Only one – we call in a bomb threat," Tyler suggested.

Jay quickly snapped his head towards Tyler and asked with mad eyes, "What? Are you crazy?"

"No, if there's any chance that we're tellin' the truth, they'd clear out the hotel," Tyler explained.

Suddenly, the sound of a key penetrating the keyhole and turning the locks shot through Jay and Tyler's ears. Reaching up at the laundry bin, they pulled out a couple white blankets to cover themselves with. Trying to remain as silent and still as possible, the two boys closed their eyes and hoped whoever had opened the door wouldn't notice them. As they crouched down hiding, they felt heavy footsteps coming towards them. Coming to a stop, the pair of polished black shoes led up to the Porter who had helped carried their luggage in. With a mocking smile on his face, he leaned over the laundry bin and ripped the blankets off of Jay and Tyler's bodies.

"You two are a long way from the luxury suite," he told them.

"We ran out of shampoo," Tyler innocently blurted.

Outside the closet, the three could hear the shuffling footsteps of FBI agents and police officers scrambling to find Jay and Tyler. The two boys both stared at the door, praying to God that it didn't open.

"Don't worry, I ain't no fan of the police," the Porter said, noticing the fear in Jay and Tyler's eyes.

"Look our friend might be in trouble. Unless we get out of here we're not gonna find him," Jay revealed.

"And we can pay," Tyler added.

"You don't got enough," the Porter replied. He eyed Tyler up and down until his eyes settled on the sparkling, gold Rolex watch on his wrist. Looking at Tyler, he said, "But I do like that watch."

Instantly, Tyler unstrapped the watch from his wrist and handed it over to the Porter. "It is all yours!"

As the Porter pocketed the watch, the sound of fists banging against the door interrupted their little conversation. Jay and Tyler fearfully jumped back against the wall as the person outside the door ordered, "NYPD, open the door!"

"One minute!" the Porter shouted back. Then to Jay and Tyler, he whispered, "This leads into the basement. Take the hall to your right – it leads into the building next door."

He pried open the small, gray door to the laundry chute and moved out of the way so Jay and Tyler could dive down it. As the police outside knocked once more, Tyler stepped into the chute and slid down.

"Hold on, I'm changing!" the Porter yelled, trying his best to stall the cops. Jay tossed his backpack into the laundry chute and stepped into it. He turned to the Porter one more time with a worried look on his face, prompting the Porter to reply, "Don't worry; you'll be fine."

New York FBI Field Office

In Agent Marlow's hands was a manila folder with several loose pieces of paper inside. The one on top had a picture of Jay along with most of his personal info. There was also a copy of his photo ID attached to the piece of paper. Agent Marlow read off pieces of Jay Burchell's information as she and Fred Chambers walked down a hallway on their way back to the bullpen.

"Jay Burchell – twenty-six, graduated Yale Law last week at the top five of his class, went to UCLA for undergrad, and grew up in a rough part of Long Beach, California."

"Any family?" Chambers asked.

"Has a mother named Felicia Cruz in Los Angeles. She holds multiple jobs – mainly housework."

"Father?"

"That's where it gets interesting," Marlow commented. "Sergeant William Burchell served in Iraq in 1992 – he was court marshaled for a for a friendly fire incident that killed five men, he took his own life a year later."

"That's a potential motive. It sounds like payback," Chambers replied.

From behind them, Agent Borjes walked in and announced, "We haven't been able to find anything on the name he gave us – Will Traveler. We checked DMV, NCIC, credit bureaus, everywhere – there's nothing on him."

"Sounds like a decoy," Chambers muttered.

"I don't think so, sir. He was panicked, but his speech pattern didn't suggest he was lying," Agent Marlow told her boss. "This Will Traveler – there's a big chance he's real."

"Well, I don't know about you, Agent Marlow, but I don't believe in ghosts," Chambers sardonically replied. Obviously insulted by Chambers' comment, Marlow rolled her eyes and turned away as Agent Chambers walked to the center of the room. "C'mon, people, talk to me!"

"They got out," an agent said as he walked by. "But we know who the room was registered to – Tyler Fog."

"Carlton Fog's son?"

"We set Fog's DMV picture with the Drexler footage and got a positive match," the agent told Chambers as he went to his computer. Bringing up a screen, he showed Chambers the two images set to one another; they confirmed a positive match just as he said.

"I want a profiler running point in the field – that means you, Marlow," Chambers said as he walked away.

"Me, sir?" Agent Marlow asked, apparently stunned by Chambers' decision to make her lead.

"Richardson's still in D.C. so that makes you my lead profiler," Chambers answered. Turning to Borjes, he added, "Borjes, you and Marlow check out the Drexler."

"No problemo," Borjes said as he strapped his gun to his waist. Nodding at Marlow, Borjes slipped his jacket on and walked towards the door. Holding it open, he waited for Marlow to follow him then they were on their way.

"Sheen, I want you and every available SOG looking for contacts. Captain Fitz, I want Port Authority Transit and MTA to lock up the island. These guys do not leave Manhattan unless I personally walk them across a bridge!" Chambers doggedly ordered. "Now, let's go!"

As all his men started their engines and got to work, Agent Chambers walked over to the wall of video monitors. With a determined, anxious look on his face, Chambers rubbed his stubbly chin and stared up at one of the monitors. The monitor was still playing the footage from the Drexler; the image of Jay Burchell and Tyler Fog careening through the crowds of people at the Drexler Museum embedded itself into Agent Chambers' head. He crossed his arms over his chest and nodded his head as he turned away from the monitor.

Manhattan, NY

"I'm sorry! Your car's not here," a short, stocky, Arabic man told Tyler. He held a clipboard in his hand and read it over, searching for Tyler's name. "It's been checked out already."

"Are you sure?" Tyler apprehensively questioned.

"I checked three times – it's not here," the man replied. "Now, you need to leave. I've got lots of people coming in to get cars. Cops are shutting down the subways."

"Wait? What?"

"They're shutting down the subways, looking for those two guys from the bombing. White – not Arabic if you can believe," the Arabic man said in a jarred manner.

"Okay, thank you," Tyler quickly said as Jay walked over to him.

Tyler hurried over to his friend and grabbed him by the shoulder. As they exited the parking lot, Tyler told Jay, "They're shutting down the subways."

"Great," Jay sighed. "We need to get the hell out of here, quick."

As Jay and Tyler crossed the street, Tyler's pocket began to ring. Reaching into his deep pockets, Tyler pulled out a silver cellphone and answered it. "Dad!" he said elatedly.

"Tyler, what's happening?" Carlton asked.

"They took the car."

"That's a minor setback. You need to get to the Queensborough Bridge. That's the nearest safety valve. Everybody on the east side of the city will walk out that way."

"A-alright, we're heading there now."

"Good. You still have my black card – the one I gave you for emergencies?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah."

"The pin number is your birthday. Get out as much cash as you can and go to bridge directly. Walk across and call me when you get to Queens. I'll be waiting," Carlton instructed his son.

"Okay, okay, I got it," Tyler replied.

"Son?"

"Uh yeah?"

"Good luck."

Tyler nodded to himself and closed the cellphone. Sticking it back into his pocket, he muttered, "Okay, we're twenty minutes from getting out of here. The estate's a two-hour drive."

"I'm not going," Jay suddenly said. He stopped walking and stood back from Tyler.

Confused, Tyler turned to his friend and shouted, "What!?"

"I didn't leave that room to run! I'm going to find Will."

"Will is a part of this, Jay!" Tyler retorted, trying to dissuade Jay from searching for their friend.

"Maybe he was set up too. Did you ever think of that? Maybe someone had a gun to his head when we talked to him on the phone," Jay said hopefully. Running his hand through his raggedy hair, he added, "We get his picture, take it to the Feds, let the system find him –"

"Maybe he doesn't wanna be found!" Tyler angrily snapped. He shook his head vigorously and walked away from Jay. His face showing the torture he was going through, he turned and said, "Look, I know you and Will were closer – that you knew him better – but things are different now, Jay. We are the ones out on this sidewalk, not him."

"Then run, Tyler."

"Don't do that, Jay!"

"Go on, it'll be easier for you to get out on your own," Jay replied, stepping forward towards Tyler.

"I don't wanna go without you, Jay," Tyler said, his eyes beginning to well up with tears.

"I have to do this," Jay said, shaking his head. "I have to find Will."

Sniffling, Tyler replied, "Alright fine. But I'm gonna wait for you at the Queensborough Bridge. If you're not there in an hour, I'm gonna leave without you. But Jay, for both of our sakes, I hope you're there with me when I go."

Jay nodded to his friend as Tyler turned and walked away. Disappearing into the large crowd of people around them, Tyler went on his own path. Jay could barely see the navy blue back of his jacket now. Once Tyler was out of plain sight, Jay went his own way and vanished as well.

Drexler Museum

Guillermo Borjes and Jan Marlow stepped foot into the demolished structure that was once the great and famed Drexler Museum. It was all gone to soot and ashes now. Nothing within its walls appeared to have survived. Walls were torn down, part of the ceiling had collapsed, paintings had turned into ash – the whole place looked like a nightmare. Inside the building were several CSIs inspecting it. Walking with Borjes and Marlow was the lead CSI – a tall, bald man in a black jacket with the letters CSI written on the back in yellow block letters.

"Here we are: Ground Zero," the man said as he, along with Borjes and Marlow, entered the room the bomb initially went off in.

"What was used?" Borjes asked.

"Napalm," the lead CSI answered. "Highly compressed to get this kind of dispersion."

"Think law school grads could build this?" Marlow wondered.

"Yeah, if he's Ted Kaczynski. This is some pretty complex engineering."

"Do you remember what was on Burchell and Fog's transcripts?" Marlow asked Borjes.

Borjes reached into the inside lining of his suit and pulled out two pieces of paper. He read the transcripts in his head and looked at Marlow. His eyes seemed to light up as he replied, "Fog audited some chemical engineering classes."

"Even if you did graduate a chemical engineering class, you'd have to be experienced and pretty skilled to build a bomb like this," the CSI said.

Borjes nodded, taking in everything the CSI told him. He looked around the room and saw that the bomb had reached almost every nook and cranny of the place. Everything had turned black from the explosion. "A bomb this big, you'd think there'd be more casualties."

"Well, not everybody got out." The CSI motioned towards a yellow blanket that covered lump on the ground and led Borjes and Marlow over to it. Pulling away the blanket, he revealed the charred remains of a human body.

Marlow and Borjes were both taken aback by the sight; Marlow turned away and covered her mouth tightly. Borjes' face contorted into a disgusted expression as he leaned over to look at the body. The appalled look on his face soon changed into a look of revelation as he noticed a patch of dark blue material on the body. "Didn't Burchell say their other friend – Traveler – was wearing a blue jacket?"

Marlow, her hand still over her mouth, eased in closer towards the blackened remains. She nodded and said, "Yup, a dark blue track jacket."

Borjes made a clicking sound by hitting his tongue against the inner walls of his cheek. He reached forward with a pair of tweezers and picked the patch of material off the charred body. Looking up at the CSI, he handed the material over to him and said, "Think you can get any DNA off of this?"

Manhattan, NY

Kim Doherty walked down the empty hallway to her one-bedroom apartment in Manhattan. She was wearing a black blouse with a matching pair of slacks and heels. Kim worked at an art gallery uptown selling pieces of artwork, such as paintings, drawings, and photographs. She had long, light brown hair and glistening blue eyes. Her cheekbones were high and she had full lips. There was an exhausted look about her as if she had just gone through a long, tiring day. Rummaging through her black purse, she searched for her ring of keys. They were at the very bottom, beneath a pile of makeup products, a checkbook, a wallet, some receipts, pens, and a few opened and unopened envelopes. She unlocked her front door and immediately went for the TV remote. She had just heard moments ago about the bombing of the Drexler Museum and the involvement of her boyfriend, Jay.

The TV screen blinked on and showed a news report on the Drexler Bombing. "The Drexler is an invaluable part of the city. We can only hope they were able to salvage some of the artwork inside. Along with Burchell, police are looking for this man: Tyler Fog – he is the son of Carlton Fog, one of the richest men in America and a convicted conspirator in the Iran Contra Scandal of the late eighties."

Kim was becoming visibly more worried by the second. Droplets of sweat perforated her skin and her heart beat faster and faster. Her heart suddenly stopped when she saw a tall, shadowed figure appear behind the TV. She jumped and shrieked a little, but was relieved when she noticed it was Jay. Surprised at seeing her boyfriend there, she hopped onto her feet and walked towards him.

"Oh my God, Jay! Are you okay?" she asked as she got closer.

"I'm fine."

"God, what did you do!?" Kim demanded to know.

"I didn't do anything – you know that," Jay replied, moving forward to embrace his loving girlfriend. The two shared a moment of peace as they held each other in their arms.

"What happened?"

"Will had this stupid idea to start off our trip by rollerblading through the Drexler," Jay explained.

"You what!?" Kim asked in disbelief.

"Believe me, I know – it was a stupid idea. But it was just a prank! Two minutes after we got out the place, it blew up and someone is trying to make it look like it's our fault."

"Where are the guys?"

"Tyler's on his way out of the city," Jay said as he checked outside the windows for any visible cop cars.

"That is so like him," Kim mumbled under her breath. 

"Look, Will is gone. I think he was in the museum when the bomb went off." A somber and quiet expression crossed Kim's face. Hearing a friend – someone she'd known for two years – was dead was a feeling she'd never felt before. It grabbed at her gut and confused her. Repeatedly blinking her eyes, she shook her head and looked out the window. Jay strode forward and grabbed her by the shoulders. "I know this sounds crazy, but please, just tell me you have your photo albums."

Kim solemnly nodded and reached under a drawer for a pile of photo albums. There were at least three large photo albums and a shoebox full of discarded pictures. She set them all at the table and helped Jay sift through them for a photograph of Will Traveler. For several minutes, they sat at the coffee table searching for any pictures that had Will's face on them, but it was no use. Jay angrily flipped through one of the photo albums and violently shook his head. In every one of the photographs, Will had inconspicuously hid his face. In one group picture, he had his head turned behind Jay's. In another, his hand obscured his face.

"What are you looking for Jay?" Kim wondered.

"I need a shot of Will's face – something to take to the cops."

"Try your birthday at the Anchorage. It's in the front!" Kim suggested as if the light bulb in her head lit up.

Jay flipped all the way to the front of the photo album and searched through the shots taken at his twenty-sixth birthday. Though there were dozens of pictures taken there, none of them had Will's face in them. In one of the photos, the video camera Will took with him everywhere shielded his face and in another, a beer bottle was in the way. Steam pouring out his ears, Jay grabbed the photo album and threw it across the living room floor. "C'mon!" he heatedly shouted as he stood up. "There's gotta be one!"

"It's okay, Jay," Kim said, trying to help him calm down.

"No, it's not okay," Jay replied, his face turning beet red. "How do you live with someone for two years and not have a single picture of them?"

Shaking his head, Jay stood beside the window and looked out through the foggy glass. Giving a sigh of defeat, he remarked, "Tyler was right – Will's a part of this."

Swallowing, Jay walked across the room to pick up his backpack that was on the carpet floor. As he bent over to pick it up, his head slightly turned when he heard the people talking on the news. "What about the idea that this somehow might be an act of retribution for what happened to their fathers?" a man asked.

Jay and Kim both faced the TV and watched as two men on either half of the screen discussed the Drexler Museum bombing. "Perhaps, but if Fog and Burchell have ties to terrorist groups overseas they will be considered enemy combatants and remanded to the military justice system."

"Tyler's dad said people knew this would happen," Jay whispered to himself.

Turning her head slightly crooked, Kim asked, "You're going to listen to a man like Carlton Fog?"

"Why not!?" Jay retorted. "Listen to what they're saying about us! Do you think I'll ever get a chance to practice law after this!?"

Slinging his backpack around one shoulder, Jay sighed and took a seat on the arm of the couch. He looked over at Kim, who was biting her lower lip to keep herself from crying. "Look, I'm sorry. Will was my best friend – I told him things, I trusted him. What if everything he did and said was a lie?"

"That's why we have to fight this."

"I have to fight this!" Jay replied. "This isn't your fight. I don't want you to get involved."

"I already am." Kim walked over to Jay and wrapped her arms around his head. Pushing him closer to her heart, she began to sniffle and tears welled up in her eyes.

"Do you remember the first time we met? After I bumped into you at the bar Will did everything he could to keep me from calling you. He didn't keep us apart then and I promise he won't keep me from coming back to you now."

Jay stood up from the couch and kissed Kim on the lips. Holding her beautiful face in his hands, Jay felt like an ordinary man again. After an intense second, he let go and started for the door. However, Kim held him back.

"Jay! You can't run from this," Kim told him.

"My father died because someone in the government betrayed him. That didn't make me hate my country; it made me want to fix it. But if I'm going to fix this, whatever truly is going on, I need to figure out who Will Traveler really is."

Tyler stood at the front of a long line of people waiting to use an ATM machine. Hands shaking, he uneasily slid the black credit card into the slot and typed in his pin number.

At the FBI Field Office, one of the agents discovered Tyler using his credit card. Alerted, he called another agent in and told him about the transaction Tyler was making.

"I've got Carlton Fog makin' six five-hundred dollar withdrawals near 59th and Lex," the agent said.

"Carlton Fog's not in the city," the other agent replied. Hurrying over to Agent Chambers, he notified him, "We've found Tyler Fog."

Back at the cash machine, Tyler made another withdrawal. He was taking a while and the people behind him were visibly annoyed. One woman shouted for him to hurry up, but he snapped back at her. He made one last transaction and looked outside the bank to see a policeman standing outside. Scared, Tyler grabbed the money from the ATM and quickly exited the bank. He tried to pass by the cop unnoticed, but to no avail. The cop shouted at him, prompting Tyler to make a run for it.

Tyler started across the street, narrowly dodging a silver sedan. His tan-colored backpack dangled from his arm as he sprinted down the street with the cops following close behind. He charged straight through a plaza, bumping into several pedestrians along the way. Finally slinging the backpack around his shoulder, Tyler ran down the narrow street. He made it to the end of the sidewalk when he stopped in his tracks. There was another police officer right across the street. The cop noticed him and quickly ran towards him. Tyler turned the other way, but saw the other cop running after him as well. Breathing heavily, he ran across the street, avoiding every car coming his way with unnerved trepidation.

Elsewhere in the city, Borjes and Marlow drove down a road in their black sedan. Marlow's walkie-talkie suddenly burst into life when Chambers' voice came through the static. "What's your twenty?"

"We're on it!" Marlow said confidently as she placed the red and white sirens on the car's dashboard. The red and white lights began flashing as the black sedan tore down the street.

As Tyler rushed down a packed sidewalk, he accidentally ran into a biker. He crashed into the man, knocking him off the bike. With the cop still behind him, Tyler hastily climbed to his feet and rapidly sprinted down the street. Seeing the other cop coming at him from the other direction, Tyler came to a stop and proceeded to run across the street. However, a black sedan came out of nowhere and ran right into Tyler. Tyler's body slammed into the windshield of the car, sending a web of cracks through it. Fortunately, Tyler wasn't seriously hurt and he managed to crawl off the windshield. As he got off the car, he noticed the people inside were FBI agents. Borjes and Marlow looked at Tyler and realized he was their man. Running as fast as humanly possible, Tyler got away from the two agents and headed back up the street. Determined to catch their man, though, Borjes put the sedan in Park and got out of the vehicle. Swiftly, he ran up the street in hot pursuit of Tyler, leaving Marlow behind in the car.

Pushing through the wooden doors of a church, Tyler ran up the aisle towards an exit on the other end. The people in the pews looked on in surprise as Agent Borjes burst through the doors as well and followed Tyler out the exit door. Slamming the door behind him, Tyler ran around the corner of the building and climbed up a steel ladder screwed into the wall. As he reached the top of the ladder, Borjes appeared out of the church and aimed his gun at Tyler. Tyler luckily made it onto the rooftop and ran across it. Hopping over a barrier, Tyler headed straight for a staircase. He ran up the metal stairs, his sneakers clanging against the rusted steel with every movement. As he neared the top, his backpack accidentally got caught against the railing of the staircase. He tried to wrench it away, but a policeman opened fire. The bullet ricocheted off the steel stairs, but missed Tyler. A fearful shrieked escaped his pursed lips and he let go of the backpack, letting it slide down the steps. A few steps below, Agent Borjes steadily followed Tyler up the staircase. Running away from the stairs, Tyler jumped down onto a lower roof. He rolled to absorb the impact of his fall and got back on his feet right away. Tyler ran through the hanging drapes and empty clothesline on his way to the end of the rooftop. Looking behind him, he saw Agent Borjes getting closer and closer with every step he took. It seemed as if the more tired Tyler got, the faster Borjes became. Tyler made a giant leap onto another rooftop and ran towards the edge. He was about to jump again when he realized there was nowhere to jump to, but the street below, where a police car awaited. Shaking, he turned and prepared to run again.

"FBI, Fog. I will fire!" Borjes shouted. He held a gun in his hands and aimed it perfectly in the middle of Tyler's forehead. Tyler stopped moving and raised his long arms up in the air in surrender. "Keep your hands up and turn around. There's nowhere to run now!"

Behind him, Agent Marlow kicked open the door and aimed her gun. Borjes acknowledged her presence and walked slowly towards Tyler. He holstered his weapon and pulled out a pair of shiny handcuffs. Marlow kept her gun trained on Fog and watched as her partner put the young man in handcuffs. "It's over."

"The guy you want left hours ago," Tyler said. "Me and Jay had nothing to do with this."

"Really? Why don't you tell me all about it over some cookies and milk?" Borjes sarcastically replied as he tightened the cuffs around Tyler's wrists.

"Marlow, this is Chambers. Copy."

"Go for it. This is Marlow."

"There's a call coming in to your cellphone. Answer it," Chambers ordered her.

"Who, sir?" Marlow asked.

"Burchell."

Agent Marlow's cellphone rang not a second later. She answered. "Who am I talking to?" Jay wanted to know.

"Mr. Burchell, this is Special Agent Marlow. I'm glad you called," Marlow replied. "We're about to take your friend into custody. Any chance you'll come in as well?"

"I'm afraid I can't do that," Jay answered.

Marlow shook her head and said, "I don't need to tell you how the law works, Mr. Burchell. If you don't cooperate now, you'll go away for a long time when we catch you."

No further than a few yards away, Jay stood in front of a large fence on a bridge across from the rooftop Marlow, Borjes, and Tyler stood. He could clearly see them standing there as he held the cellphone to his ear. Thinking of some way to help free his friend, Jay remembered what Tyler had suggested to him earlier. The idea sounded crazy before, but now, it didn't look too bad of an idea. "I've got another bomb in the city. Call off your men or I'll be forced to detonate," Jay threatened.

"What if I said I think you're bluffing?" Marlow asked. Marlow closed her eyes and said the only thing she could think to say to unnerve her suspects, "We found your friend, Traveler, in the museum – dead."

For a moment, Tyler looked up at Marlow; the expression on his face said he couldn't believe what he just heard. Blinking, his mouth hung open and his mind raced with thoughts about his best friend. Across the bridge, Jay dropped his hand with the phone in it down to his side and solemnly stared at Tyler. With one friend dead, the only thing he could think about was saving his other one.

Confidently, Jay brought the phone back up to the side of his head and said, "I'd say you never really know what someone's capable of. And you still have to take my deal."

Atop the rooftop, Marlow closed her eyes in defeat. Angrily biting her lower lip, she put Jay on hold and waited for Agent Chambers' orders.

At the Field Office, Chambers sat on the edge of a desk with a beaten and infuriated look on his face. Stepping away from the desk, he asked his agents, "What do we got?"

"Cell towers put him within a three block radius," an agent answered.

Chambers nodded and put his cellphone up to his lips. "Marlow, Borjes, I'm pulling you out. I want you out of there now."

The staggered expression on Marlow's face said that she couldn't believe Chambers' decision and didn't agree with it. "What!? Sir, we can't negotiate!"

"We're not! Tell them what they want to hear, let them see what they want to see," Chambers replied. "I'm moving undercover agents into the area so get your men to stand down."

"Yes, sir." Marlow hung up the phone and turned to Borjes. "We're standing down."

"What!?" Borjes shouted back. He appeared irate as he stomped towards Marlow. "We can't let them go! They're terrorists!"

"It's not my decision."

Across from the roof, Burchell watched on as Borjes lifted Tyler up to his feet. There was a glimmer of hope on his face as he watched several of the FBI agents and police officers backing away from the rooftop. His cellphone began to ring. "It's your lucky day, Burchell. You can have your friend. It's gonna take a minute to clear," Agent Chambers told him as he answered the phone.

For the first time in what seemed like days, Jay brightly smiled. He hung up the phone and looked over at the rooftop as the agents vanished back into the building and into the alleys.

"Uncuff him," Marlow said to Borjes.

Defiantly shaking his head, Borjes unlocked the cuffs on Tyler's wrists. As he stuck the cuffs back into his holster, he glared into Tyler's hazel eyes. Pointing a stiff finger at his face, he said, "You got lucky today, kid."

On the phone, Marlow said, "Burchell, we're leaving Fog now."

As all of the FBI agents and cops disappeared, Tyler looked around and gave out a sigh of relief. Above him, a black helicopter flew by, blowing wind down on him and sending his feathery hair back. He covered his eyes to deflect the breeze and watched as the helicopter flew away. Closing his eyes in silent solitude, he reached for his cellphone.

"The bomb's on the Brooklyn Bridge," Jay said to Agent Chambers. Right away, he hung up his phone and looked down at the street below. Agents Borjes and Marlow got into their black sedan and drove away. His cellphone suddenly began to ring. On the caller ID was Tyler's name.

"Jay! Jay, what'd you tell them?" Tyler wanted to know.

"I gave up the second bomb," Jay said.

"You did what?"

"No, it worked – just like you said it would. They're clearing out," Jay replied exultantly.

A smile forming over his face, Tyler looked around him. In the corner of his eye, he saw Jay standing across from him on the bridge. Slightly chuckling, he glumly said, "I didn't think you'd come back for me."

"You'd do the same for me," Jay told him. He paused for a second then added, "They'll still be watching the building so be careful getting out."

"Okay, you too pal."

Jay hung up the phone and watched as Tyler ran from the rooftop. He edged closer towards the large fence and grabbed at it with his left hand. Remembering to disguise himself, he reached into his backpack for a blue Chicago Cubs baseball cap. He put it on his head and turned away from the fence. Just as he did, though, a man in a gray jacket appeared before him. In the man's hand was a gun, which he stuck to Jay's chest. Crushed, Jay raised his hands up in surrender as the man peeled his backpack off his shoulder and shoved him forward.

As he ran down the dark steps of the building, Tyler breathed heavily. He couldn't believe they had gotten away. Only moments ago, he was in handcuffs surrounded by the FBI. He was almost at the exit when someone came from behind and pointed a gun to the back of his head.

"That's enough, Mr. Fog!" the man declared.

Astonished, Tyler cringed and raised his arms up. Sighing, he resigned himself to his fate as the man grabbed his hands and put them back in handcuffs. He was led out of the building into a back alley, where a black van and several other agents in FBI jackets awaited. The man holding Tyler by his handcuffs opened the back of the van. Inside it was Jay, who sat with his hands cuffed behind his back as well. Tyler stopped moving and stared at his friend. They shared a look of morose defeat before the FBI agent shoved Tyler into the van with Jay.

Seconds later, the van sped away and hurled down an empty alleyway, its wheels splashing shallow puddles of muddy rain water. In the back of the van, Tyler looked up at Jay. Jay solemnly looked down at the floor of the van. He didn't even look back at Tyler. Leaning back against the side of the van, Tyler began to inanely laugh.

"Hell of a way to start a road trip," Tyler muttered. Jay chuckled at his friend's absurd enthusiasm. "I should've listened to you this morning – not Will."

"Will's dead," Jay blankly said.

"I know."

"You were right about him," Jay told his friend, finally turning to face him. Tyler looked back at Jay. Instead of a gloating expression he would usually have at a time like this, he appeared sad and distressed that he was correct.

The van turned a sharp corner and headed down into an empty back lot, where there were several closed garage doors. As the van continued its course, Tyler said to Jay, "Look, I know we've been at each other's throats and it's been –"

"Hey! Shut up back there!" one of the FBI agents up front demanded.

Tyler looked away from the agent and stared straight at the whitewashed walls of the van. Quietly, he stated, "I just want you to know, that whatever happens, I love you. You're like a brother to me."

"Same to you pal," Jay replied.

Suddenly, the van was smashed into by something hard and fast. The entire van shook and tumbled over. It skidded along the rough ground until it hit a garage door and made a loud, clanging sound. In the back of the van, Tyler and Jay grunted and groaned at the pain they were experiencing. Their bodies had been thrown across the back of the van, into the other side. Slowly rising, Tyler looked over at the FBI agent. The man had pulled a pistol out and was aiming it at Tyler's head. Tyler's eyes widened and he sounded as if he was going to hyperventilate. He tried his best to back away, but the locked door of the van prevented it. The FBI agent got off one shot, but luckily it missed. Tyler jumped and fell on his side as Jay tried to jerk the gun out of the agent's hand. He kicked the gun into the side of the van, causing the man to fire another round, which missed. He wrapped his ankles around the man's hand, but to no avail. The man simply grabbed his feet with his other hand and pushed his legs down on the ground. Aiming directly for Tyler's head, he was about to pull the trigger when two gunshots rang off. Two bullets made their way through the windshield, putting holes through it and into the agent's back. The agent's body slumped over Jay, but he quickly backed away, repulsed by the dead body. As he crawled away from the agent, Jay heard a pair of footsteps coming closer towards the van. He looked over at the van door, which creaked open. Outside was a hulking figure holding a silver pistol with a silencer attached to the barrel.

"Get out!" the man ordered. He crouched down so Jay and Tyler could see his face. It was the Porter from the hotel. Jay and Tyler both had bewildered looks on their faces. The Porter stuck the pistol back into its shoulder holster and said, "On your feet!"

Reaching into the van, the Porter helped Tyler out. He grabbed him by his arms and pulled him out of the wrecked van. After both boys were out of the van, the Porter unlocked their handcuffs. Without a word, the Porter dropped the cuffs to the ground and walked over to the van. The van had tilted on its side so the bottom of the van faced the right. The Porter walked over to it and attached something next to the exhaust pipe. Walking back over to the two boys, he said, "Come with me."

Jay and Tyler looked at one another then followed the Porter with their eyes. However, they remained unmoving and simply stood there, staring at the strange man before them. The Porter noticed they weren't following him and shouted, "Now!"

Jay began to move and dragged Tyler over with him. They walked closely behind the Porter and asked, "Who are you?"

The Porter refused to answer; instead, he kept moving towards the end of the alleyway. Jay grabbed the man by his shoulder and demanded to know, "Who are you!?"

The Porter finally stopped and answered, "I'm the only person who believes your side of the story."

"Wait! Wait! Wait a minute!" Tyler barked, waving his hands in front of him. Pointing back towards the van, he said, "You just killed two FBI agents."

As he finished his sentence, the van behind them erupted into flames. Jay and Tyler instinctively dropped into the ground as the van separated into several burnt and blackened pieces that scattered about the alleyway. Smoke and fire soared through the damp, dark alley as Jay and Tyler crawled up to look at the mess.

"Get up!" the Porter said, prompting the two to stand again.

"What happened to Will?" Jay asked. "You know what's going on – tell us!"

The Porter looked Jay in the eyes. Though he was still young, the Porter could see the eyes of a hardened, determined man in Jay. He turned to Tyler and took off the gold watch he had taken from the Fog heir before. Handing it to him, he said, "You'll need this more than me."

Tyler looked down at the watch with a confused look. What use could a watch be in a situation like this? He apprehensively took the watch from the Porter and put it around his wrist.

"Once you get over the bridge, the only people you trust are each other. Now go!" Jay opened his mouth to say something, but the Porter screamed, "GO!"

Grabbing his friend by the elbow, Jay quickly ran away from the alley. Looking back at the burning wreckage and the man that caused it, Tyler followed Jay out of the alley and into the street. They ran as fast as they could, leaving the Porter behind to deal with the mess he had caused.

Minutes after running, Jay and Tyler made it out of the city, over the bridge. They stood next to a phone booth. Tyler was on the phone with his father while Jay quietly stood beside him. As they stood there, a pair of friends rollerbladed by. The two friends looked so blissful and innocent. They smiled as they raced down the hill against one another. Jay looked on in despair as he reminisced about the first time he had met Tyler Fog and Will Traveler.

Yale Graduate Housing, Two Years Ago

Wearing a blue Cubs hat and wheeling a black traveling bag behind him, Jay read off the address of the piece of paper he held. Looking up at the numbers on the side of the blue, two-story house in front of him, he stuffed the scrap back into his pocket and walked up to the front door. He unlocked the door and stepped into the foyer of the house. It was a fairly old house, but it was still in considerably good condition. The floor was clean and waxed and the walls appeared to be newly painted. Setting his bag down next to his feet, he heard footsteps rushing down the staircase. It was Tyler coming to greet his new roommate.

"Hey! You must be Will," he said.

"Actually, I'm Jay," Jay corrected him.

"Ah! Thought I'd take a guess." Tyler walked over to Jay and introduced himself. "I'm Tyler Fog."

The two shook hands. Tyler noticed the Cups hat on Jay's head and asked, "Wait a minute. You're a Cubs fan? I thought you're from LA."

"Oh, my dad – he was from Chicago," Jay told him.

Smiling, Tyler said, "I was actually at the game when Bartman went for the foul ball. Cost them the pennant – total heartbreak."

There was an agreeing look on Jay's face as he nodded. He was, at the same time, bemused and enthusiastic that Tyler was a Cubs fan like him. Behind them, the door opened up and Will walked in. All he carried with him was a single backpack and his video camera slung around his shoulder.

"And the circle's complete," Tyler commented. "Hey, you must be Will Traveler. I'm Tyler Fog, school of management."

"Yeah," Will replied as he shook Tyler's hand.

"Jay –"

"Jay Burchell, law school," Will said, apparently familiar with who his new roommates were. "I read the housing ticket. Looks like we got a nice place!"

"Wait till you see upstairs," Tyler replied. His cellphone started ringing, forcing him to answer. "Sorry guys, I have to take this."

Tyler stepped away from his newly introduced friends and walked into the living room. At the foyer, Jay and Will looked at one another and smiled.

As he took his backpack off, Will said, "So that's Tyler Fog, huh? Wonder what he's doing slumming in grad housing."

"I'm sure he'll be happy to tell us," Jay replied with a chuckle.

He turned to Will, who stared at the baseball cap he wore. Letting out a laugh, Will smiled and eagerly asked, "You're kidding me! You're a Cubs fan!?"

"Uh, yeah, we just went through this," Jay replied. "Why?"

Will chuckled and unzipped the black jacket he was wearing. Underneath was a light gray t-shirt with 'Chicago Cubs' emblazoned across the chest. From behind, Tyler returned with a bright, optimistic smile.

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! You too? I am loving this house already!" All three boys smiled and laughed at each other. It was the beginning of a hopefully long and beautiful friendship. "How is it that three guys from LA, Maine, and the Hamptons all like the same team?"

"Must be fate," Will replied with a chuckle.

Suddenly, it all didn't seem like fate at all. Jay was pulled back from his time-traveling by Tyler, who grabbed at his shoulder. Jay turned around and turned to his friend who was still on the phone with his father. "Jay, my dad knows a used car dealership two blocks away and they take cash."

"Can he help us track down any info on Will? He's the only lead we've got."

"He's already looking into it," Tyler assured Jay. His father apparently got back on the line as Tyler turned away and answered, "Yeah? Dad?"

"Okay, son, listen: call from the road if you have any problems."

"We'll see you soon."

Carlton Fog hung up his phone and sighed. He looked at his cellphone for a moment before setting it down on his desk. Squinting his eyes, he gravely said, "I've done as you've asked. They'll be here tonight." Standing in front of him was a man in a black suit.

Back in New York, Jay and Tyler walked down a street, surrounded by many pedestrians. Effectively blending into the gigantic crowd of people, Jay and Tyler glanced once at one another as they headed to the car dealership down the street. Above them, the sun was beginning to set; the sky had gotten dimmer and the clouds were joining together overhead casting an ominous shadow over the two boys.


	2. Chapter 2: The Retreat

**Chapter 2: The Retreat**

The FBI Field Office in New York was bustling with hundreds of FBI agents doing their damnedest to locate and apprehend Jay Burchell and Tyler Fog. Two rows of twelve computers each were filled to the brim with FBI agents searching for any info on the two Drexler Bombing suspects. Behind then, at the desks, were men and women answering phone calls, filing papers, reading documents, and the like. In the central briefing room, Chambers, Borjes, and Marlow were speaking to several other FBI agents, the police chief, and several other men and women.

"Our bomb squad came up empty at the Brooklyn Bridge. We managed to get photos on the NGA satellite fly-by. They caught our van being hit by Burchell and Fog's accomplice. What we know from forensics is that the unsub used a .45 to kill our men and C4 to blow up the van. After that they crossed into Queens and pulled a Houdini," Agent Marlow explained.

"What's our current action?" Chambers asked Borjes.

"NYPD's blanketing the county – train stations, taxi companies, used car dealers. Port Authority has checkpoints in all bridges and tunnels out of the city," Borjes answered.

"What about Carlton Fog? Tyler Fog made two calls to him today."

"We're still working on a location on Carlton Fog," Borjes replied. "We're ninety-five percent sure it's one of his houses. SWATs are out to Fog's farmhouse in Massachusetts, his mansion in the Hamptons, and his penthouse in the Upper East Side in case they double back."

"Alright, I want his location pinpointed by the end of the night, you hear me?" Chambers demanded.

Somewhere Outside NY

Driving a black '67 Ford Mustang, Tyler sped down Route 73 outside of New York. On either side of them were walls of trees. There was barely any light on the road save for the light coming from their headlights. As they raced towards Carlton Fog's estate, they listened to the radio. Even out this far there was a radio station reporting the news of the Drexler Bombing and Jay and Tyler's involvement in the act. Tyler gritted his teeth and turned the radio off.

"There's still no mention of Will," he muttered.

"Maybe it takes a while to identify the body," Jay suggested. "What about your dad? Got any idea what he's got in mind."

"Calling in favors, bringing in lawyers, political contacts, whatever can help us out."

Jay silently nodded and leaned back into his seat. He looked over at the car's speedometer and realized Tyler was going far over the speed limit. "Hey, man, you should slow down."

"Relax, there's no one around here for miles. Besides, we're almost to my dad's."

New Haven, CT – 14 Months Ago

Racing down the neighborhood street were Jay and Will. Jay was dressed in a red and gray sweater with a pair of black shorts and sneakers while Will wore a gray t-shirt, black sweatpants, and a pair of old, white running shoes. Sweat permeated their clothes and the stench of their bodies filled the air around them. They were neck and neck as they neared their home. However, Will pulled up to take the lead and left Jay in his dust as he ran up the steps of their porch and tagged the doorknob first.

"Woo! The Traveler win streak continues!" Will exclaimed. "Sorry, Jay, you're too slow! What's that – six months in a row now?"

"Hey I'm getting closer, okay? I'm gonna beat your skinny ass sooner or later," Jay retorted.

"Oh I own you, Jay, I own you!" Will gloated. He walked over to the roommates' refrigerator and pulled out two bottles of water. "You know why you always lose?"

"Why's that?"

"Cause you don't want it badly enough. Isn't that right, Tyler?" Will said, looking over at Tyler.

Tyler was sitting down in front of the TV with a bag of chips cradled in one arm and a bottle of beer in the other hand. He wore nothing but a black shirt and his red striped boxers. He walked over to the fridge to grab another beer.

"Shouldn't you be getting ready?" Jay asked as he took a sip of his water bottle.

"My dad can't make it. He's on his way to Miami," Tyler replied in a raspy voice. He popped off the cap of the beer bottle and took a swig.

"What? This dinner's been on the books for two weeks. What happened?" Jay asked.

"He's been trying to buy a shipping company for two years. That's how it is in the Fog Family – business comes first."

"Well, screw him then," Will said. "If he can't be bothered to show up for dinner, we'll just put it on his tab, huh? Carlton can still pay for our filets."

"I second that!" Jay replied, slapping his water bottle against Will's.

"He cut me off," Tyler interceded. Jay and Will, who were on their way up the stairs, drew back and looked at Tyler with confused faces. "My dad, he can't pay for dinner because he cut me off. That's why I'm livin' here with you guys instead of on my own. That's why I'm back at school. Tonight would've been the first night I seen him since."

"But you paid for everything when we –"

"Credit cards paid for it."

"Tyler, you could've said something. You didn't have to step up like that," Will told him.

"Yeah right," Tyler mumbled.

Jay sighed then said, "Then I guess dinner's on me! That is, if you guys don't mind pizza and beer."

"Hey, don't worry about it," Will said to Tyler. "He's your father – I'm sure he had his reasons."

"What the hell? What?!" Tyler moaned as he stared at his rearview mirror. Flashing its lights behind Tyler and Jay was a patrol car. "Damn it! You gotta be kidding me!"

"What'd I tell you, huh?" Jay replied, shaking his head angrily. He tried to lean back into his seat and lay low as the patrol car behind them kept whirring its sirens.

"Look, maybe it's not after us," Tyler said hopefully. He moved the Mustang off to the side, allowing the patrol car to speed away down the barren road. Watching the patrol car drive away, the two boys both sighed. Even though the cop hadn't been after him, the close call was incentive enough for Tyler to slow down.

They continued driving down the road until Tyler came to an abrupt stop. In front of them on the side of the road were two wrecked cars. One had toppled over and a firefighter appeared to be helping pull someone out of the driver's seat. The other one was sitting in the middle of the road; this one looked more beat up than the other. Its hood was dented in and the driver's side looked mangled. Standing next to it with a power saw was another firefighter attempting to chop off the driver's side door. Parked on the side of the roadway were two ambulances along with about two patrol cars. Marking the ground around the vehicles were red flares. Four EMTs helped carry one of the wounded drivers onto a stretcher and load him up into the ambulance just as Tyler stopped behind a long line of vehicles waiting to pass through.

"Well this is just great," Tyler said as he punched his steering wheel. Jittery as ever, he began biting on his fingernails while Jay tried calming him down.

"Don't worry. We'll get by this," Jay told him.

"This isn't good," Tyler replied, shaking his head. Through the windshield, he could see one of the cops standing next to one of the cars up ahead.

"Just give it a minute."

"They're turning this into a checkpoint, Jay!" Tyler agitatedly yelled back.

"Hey, relax."

"They're looking into the cars!" Tyler retorted. Jay shook his head, unable to calm Tyler down. Tyler's breathing began to get louder; he muttered, "They're looking for us."

Jay and Tyler sat in their car for another few seconds, watching the police officers check every car in line. The officer was talking to the driver of the car directly in front of them now. Tyler looked around and was increasingly getting worried. He bit his lower lip and grabbed the gear shifter.

"Screw this!" he said as he pulled away from the line.

"Wait! Tyler!" Jay shouted. He was too late, though, and Tyler sped right through the checkpoint.

"Look, we can take back roads till we get to my dad's!"

One of the cops noticed them speeding through and shouted to one of his men, "After them! Go! Go!"

The other cop hopped into his patrol car and raced after Jay and Tyler. In the car, Jay cursed under his breath as he saw the patrol car pulling up behind them. Tyler saw it too, but for once he looked less worried than Jay. Driving down the center of the road, he looked through his rearview at the patrol car behind them. "Hang on!" he told Jay as he pulled up the emergency brake and turned into the forest. The patrol car sped right passed them, but stopped and reversed back towards the woods.

With a look of surprise in his face, Jay turned back to look at the patrol car. He was surprised Tyler knew how to drive like that. It almost made him smile.

"Don't worry. Me and my brother used to race down here on ATVs when we were little kids," Tyler said as he shot through a pair of trees. Going at nearly seventy-eight miles an hour, Tyler hopped back onto the back road and charged away as the patrol car made its way through the forest. Seconds later, the patrol car pulled up behind Tyler's mustang.

"C'mon! He's catching up!" Jay noted.

"I'm doing the best I can!" Tyler replied as he shifted to third gear.

"Pull over!" the cop ordered through the car's loud speaker.

Tyler started to slow down, but right as the patrol car pulled up beside him, he rammed the Mustang right into it. The patrol car swerved off to the side and the cop hit its brakes. Tyler, on the other hand, stepped harder on the gas and crossed over a rickety bridge. Absurdly chuckling, Tyler made a sharp turn into another back road, leaving the patrol car in his dust.

"I told you we'd lose him," Tyler said confidently. Suddenly, though, the sound of a tire going out rang through the air. The Mustang's front right tire had snagged something and it popped. Tyler swerved off to the left, sending himself and Jay and the car down an embankment. The car slid straight down the embankment until it crashed into a large tree.

Still holding onto the steering wheel, Tyler stared straight forward. Catching his breath, he looked over at Jay. The two boys frenetically unstrapped their seat belts as the sound of police sirens echoed through the empty night air.

"We can make the rest on foot," Tyler said as he hopped out of the car. "C'mon! C'mon! Let's go!"

Jay exited out of Tyler's side of the car and followed his friend into the forest. With the patrol car seemingly getting closer, they stampeded through the woods, disappearing into the black night.

New York FBI Field Office

"Agent Randall's handing out the updated case file," Agent Chambers recited. Off to the side of the briefing room, an agent with blonde hair was passing out pieces of paper out of a blue folder. "Burchell is our planner – he's the son of a soldier and he had two years of ROTC in college so we should assume he knows how to handle a firearm. Tyler Fog is the money behind the operation. He's traveled extensively in the Middle East and audited chemical engineering classes at Yale. It would be easy to underestimate these guys, but the fact is they have reason to target President Shears' collection. Shears was involved in the court marshal of Burchell's father and in Carlton Fog's federal indictment. The fact is: Burchell and Fog are on the run from us right now and two of our agents have died trying to take them in. We've all learned that when we underestimate our enemies, we make ourselves vulnerable. Now, call your wives, your husbands, your kids, whoever: that you're day has just started and that you're not coming home until Burchell and Fog are brought it."

Chambers adjusted the tie around his neck and looked over at Agents Borjes and Marlow. "Agents Borjes and Marlow remain on point on the case. All tips and locations go through them." Chambers waited for everything to sink in before adding, "Let's get busy, people!"

Manhattan, NY

Several FBI agents were rummaging through Kim Doherty's apartment. They had been there for nearly three hours now and they didn't seem to be letting up anytime soon. Kim sat on her couch, her elbows on her knees, and her head resting on her outstretched hands. Sitting on the table in front of her was a green picture frame holding a photograph of her and Jay. It had been taken no longer than three months ago at New Haven. She couldn't believe what was happening to them now. Suddenly, an expensive, black camera landed on the table and slid into the picture frame, knocking it over. Kim was pulled back to reality. She sat up and glared at the FBI agent that had tossed the camera onto the table.

"Hey, will you please be careful with that?! I need it for work." The tone of her voice suggested she was tired and immensely agitated. The blonde FBI agent looked at her as he grabbed a book off her desk. He nodded and continued shuffling through Kim's things.

Moments later, the telephone began to ring. Right away, the FBI agents in the room turned and stared at the ringing phone. Kim stood up and walked over to answer it. "Hello?

The blonde FBI agent stood by Kim's desk and stared at her, waiting to see who the call had come from. "Hey, Dad," she said, prompting the agent to return to his job. "No, I'm fine. I can't talk right now; the FBI is here. No, of course not; they're looking into Jay."

Kim took a seat on the arm of her couch as the blonde FBI agent walked over to her. Carried in his hands was a brown box full of Kim's valuables. "Ms. Doherty, we need you to come with us," he said.

"What?!" Kim replied, surprised that after invading her privacy she was being forced to spend her night with them as well.

"We just need you to answer some questions about your boyfriend. You're not under arrest," the agent assured her.

Sighing, Kim looked away from the agent and said to her father, "Hey, look Dad, I need to call you later. Okay? Bye."

She hung the phone up and followed the blonde FBI agent out of her apartment.

Somewhere Outside NY

In the middle of a dense forest, Jay and Tyler stopped to rest. They both leaned up against the broad trunk of a tree and caught their breaths. Ever since they crashed the Mustang, they'd been running. It felt like hours when it had only been about ten to fifteen minutes. Looking between the branches and bushes around them, Tyler wanted to make sure there were no cops anywhere around.

"Are you sure this is right?" Jay asked. His face was solemn and grim, much different from the laid-back and unperturbed face that started this trip.

"Yeah, we just head north from the creek," Tyler replied, pointing at a small creek barely visible at night.

"No, I mean is this the best move – going to your dad's?" Jay clarified.

"What? Are you kidding me? You're bringing this up now?"

"You two haven't always been on the best terms," Jay justified himself.

"Where else do you wanna go, Jay? The FBI? Huh?!" Tyler retorted, apparently annoyed that Jay would consider this a bad idea. Then, mockingly, he added, "Oh wait, that's right – the FBI tried to kill us today!"

"I'm just asking if you trust him!"

"Look, whatever happened between me and my father is over, okay? He was just testing me!" Tyler replied, defending his father.

"Why would he want to test you?"

"It's what dads do," Tyler answered. He turned to face Jay and saw him looking away from Tyler with a look of disgust on his face. Realizing he had just hit a soft spot, Tyler said, "Sorry."

"It's fine."

"Look, I know you were forced to fend for yourself, Jay. My dad just wanted me to do the same."

"You can fend for yourself."

"I can – we can! But this is different!" Tyler countered. "If my dad asked us to come up there, then he has a plan so I trust him. WE can trust him!"

Jay sighed at his friend, knowing it was futile to keep trying. He shrugged and followed Tyler down the small embankment as he said, "C'mon, it's just a little over a mile."

New York FBI Field Office

Agent Chambers, along with several other agents, stood in front of a wall of monitors in the bullpen. Three of the monitors were occupied by the face of three different SWAT leaders. The men were dressed in bulletproof clothing and helmets and carried automatic rifles with them. The video camera recording them was obviously on night vision mode as everything it recorded was in a bright green hue. On the lower left hand corner of the three monitors were: New York, East Hampton, and Mass., indicating where each video feed was coming from.

"This is Mass. SWAT, we're in position, New York," the leader of the Massachusetts SWAT relayed.

"Roger that. Stand by. East Hampton, New York, what's your status?" Agent Chambers said into his headpiece.

"We've got East Hampton – no activity reported."

"Manhattan SWAT, Fog penthouse, we're in position and online, sir."

"Alright, all units stand by. Hold your positions and everyone wait on my command," Chambers instructed."

In Marlow's office, she was going through files of papers sprawled on top of her desk. Hearing footsteps nearing her door, Marlow turned to see Borjes standing at her doorway. He held out to her a piece of paper and said, "Headquarters put a tap on Tyler Fog's phone when he was in Manhattan this morning. Carlton Fog asked Tyler to come to a place called Elysium. I couldn't find it on the map."

"That's 'cause it's a reference. Elysium means paradise," Marlow informed her partner. "It's usually referred to as Elysium Fields."

Elysium Fields

Dashing out of the forest like a pair of squirrels, Jay and Tyler ran towards a sprawling mansion in the middle of an empty field. Bordered by a wooden fence and massive garden with a fountain in between the two flights of stairs, the mansion looked pristine and untouched. Jay and Tyler hopped over the fence and snuck around the garden. Jay appeared a bit apprehensive; he kept looking around to see if anyone was coming. Tyler, meanwhile, looked quite cheerful and joyous he was back home.

"Hey, relax. My father built this place in the '80s after his troubles. It's got everything you need to survive on a national manhunt… or a messy divorce, which he actually used it for," Tyler told Jay as they crept towards the stairs.

Suddenly, the two boys stopped as they heard the cocking of guns behind them. Jay turned around and watched as two men in black suits scurried out of the garden. They held their guns at Jay and Tyler, who raised their arms up in the air.

"Hands up high and wide!" one of the men demanded as he strode over to the boys.

"It's alright, Bob!" a voice called from the top of the staircase. "That's my son!"

The two men – one named Bob – lowered their guns and holstered them. Relieved, Jay and Tyler let their arms hang by their side and sighed. Carlton Fog came walking down the stairs to greet his son and his friend.

"Dad!" Tyler sighed. He ran quickly over to his father and embraced him. It was a surprise to Jay to see these two hugging that way. Whenever he heard Tyler talking with Carlton, they always sounded as if they were at each other's throats. Now, Tyler held his father tightly in an embrace as tears welled up in his eyes.

Even Carlton seemed taken aback by Tyler's display of compassion. His arms were out to his side as Tyler hugged him. The expression on his face showed bewilderment at Tyler's embrace. Awkwardly chuckling, Carlton Fog wrapped his arms around Tyler and said, "It's okay now, son. You're safe. You're safe."

Tyler let go of his father and caressed his shoulder as Carlton continued, "Sorry about the excessive security, son. We were expecting you by car!"

"It's okay. I wasn't worried," Tyler replied in an attempt to look tough.

"Yeah right," Carlton said, smiling. He turned to Jay and extended his hand for a handshake. "Now, relax, Jay. You're amongst friends. C'mon, let's get you two boys inside."

Jay nodded at Carlton and followed him. As Carlton and Tyler Fog walked up the staircase, arms around one another's shoulders, Jay strolled closely behind. He looked up at one of the windows as he took a step up the stairs. Standing in front of the window was an enigmatic man with a bald head and wire-framed glasses. His face was like stone and he stood like a bronze statue, straight and dignified. The man looked down and noticed Jay had seen him. He turned around right away and vanished from the window. Jay shrugged and ran up the stairs, trying to catch up with Tyler.

New York FBI Field Office

Agent Chambers stood at a desk in the bullpen, looking over some papers. He looked up when he saw Marlow and Borjes enter. "You got something?" he asked them.

"They're going somewhere rural," Marlow answered as she handed a piece of paper to her superior.

"The farmhouse," Chambers mumbled. He walked back to the monitors and said, "Mass. SWAT, you got a green light."

"Roger New York, we're moving in," the leader of the SWAT team in Massachusetts replied.

All the SWAT members in the van loaded their weapons and prepared to head into the Fog farmhouse. One of the men kicked open the door and led the others out of the van and into the farmhouse. The team snuck through the woods surrounding the farmhouse. The leader stopped and crouched down as he spotted a guard checking the perimeter. One of the men crept behind the guard and crouched behind him. The guard turned back towards the house, but as he did, the man clasped his hand around the guard's mouth and put him into a chokehold. The guard faded away into his sleep seconds later and the SWAT member hid his body in the thicket.

Continuing on, the SWAT members slowly walked towards the farmhouse. They stood in front of the back door and checked for any more guards. It appeared to be clear so they went ahead. The back door was unlocked so the SWAT member up front turned it and entered. Stealthily, the SWAT team crept through the house and towards the kitchen.

"We have movement," the SWAT leader noted as he saw a shadow pass through the light under the door.

One of the SWAT members kicked the door in and burst into the kitchen. Waving their rifles around, the men shuffled around the kitchen, searching for any sign of life. One of the men grabbed an old man sitting at the table and pointed his weapon at him. Meanwhile, the other men turned the place inside out.

"Sir, there's no one here," the SWAT leader said.

Back at the Field Office, Chambers put his hands on his waist and sighed angrily.

Elysium Fields

"Have you found out anything about Will?" Jay asked as he stood in the kitchen.

"I'm afraid your friend's proving to be elusive," Carlton answered as he picked up a knife and a fork.

"What about his hometown – Deer Harbor?"

"We checked. There's no listing for a Will Traveler in Deer Harbor, or all of Maine for that matter."

"And Kim?"

"Your girlfriend is probably being questioned by the FBI right now," Carlton said matter-of-factly.

"Then, we need to help her!"

"Jay," he pointed at him with a stiff finger, "you need to calm down. And I bet you can't remember the last time you ate. So why don't you sit down and wait for me to finish chopping this brisket."

Jay sighed and took a seat by the kitchen counter. Across the room, Tyler had picked up a jar full of tiny chocolates and started filling his mouth with them.

"So, who did the cooking in your house, Jay – your mother or your father?" Carlton asked as he sliced a portion of the brisket.

"Honestly, I can't remember," Jay replied. "Look, sir, with all due respect, I didn't come here to talk about my family."

"You came for answers," Carlton finished for him. "We'll get to them, Jay."

"And by the way, who's that guy that was staring at us out the window upstairs?" Jay wanted to know.

"Are you speaking about me, Mr. Burchell?" the bald man from the window asked as he entered the kitchen. He was wearing a finely pressed black suit with a red and black striped tie. "John Ellington, Fallbrook Dunn."

The man, John Ellington, walked over to Carlton. He dropped a business card on the kitchen counter as he headed over to Carlton. "Your farmhouse in Massachusetts was just hit by a SWAT team. We should make this quick," Ellington told him.

"This place is supposed to be off the grid. We have secure phone lines –"

"Either way," Ellington interrupted, "we should do this now."

Carlton nodded and went back to chopping the brisket as Ellington walked away. Finished with the brisket, Carlton picked up the plate and grabbed a bowl of salad from the other side of the counter. He walked over to the dining table as Tyler leaned over the counter to grab the business card Ellington left.

"What's Fallbrook Dunn?" he wondered.

"You guys remember the Vice-President's ties to the California energy crisis?" Carlton asked. Both Jay and Tyler shook their heads. "Right, nobody does. That's because Fallbrook Dunn swept it under the carpet. They're the clean-up crew for heads of state, and they've rescued the careers of half the guys in Congress. And I hired them to save your asses."

Carlton set the plates of food onto the table and said, "C'mon, it's getting cold."

Tyler looked at the business card once more then put it away. He took a seat at the table and started digging in on the food. Jay still looked a little wary; Ellington looked like any other attorney, but there was something about him, some kind of menacing mysticism. Ignoring it for the time being, Jay sat at the table across from Tyler and put a napkin across his lap.

New York FBI Field Office

"Hamptons, Manhattan, you got a green light, and make sure Carlton Fog knows you were there," Agent Chambers ordered.

"They won't find anything, sir," Marlow told him.

"But they will send a message." Chambers looked as if he was going to say something else, but was distracted. Through the window of the room he and Marlow stood in, he could see Kim entering the Field Office with the other FBI agents from her apartment. As she passed by, she stared back at Chambers through the window. Chambers watched as she disappeared from view. Turning to Marlow, he continued, "I still want that location, Marlow."

Elysium Fields

After eating dinner, Carlton Fog led his son and Jay into another part of the mansion. There was a large, rectangular table sitting in the middle of the room with several chairs on either side of it. At the head of the table was John Ellington. In front of him on the table was a laptop computer attached to several high-tech devices by wires and plugs. He noticed Carlton and the two boys entering and stopped whatever it was he was doing.

"What's this?" Jay asked, curious about the laptop and the machines connected to it. More intriguing was the small video camera facing one of the chairs in the room.

"It's a portable polygraph machine," Ellington answered. Jay knew what polygraph machines were – they administered lie detector tests. Standing at the doorway, he wondered why Ellington would need one in this situation. "We use them for intake interviews with new clients."

"Why would we lie?"

"You wouldn't… outwardly."

"I've never heard of a firm that does this to their own clients," Jay replied, obviously concerned about being submitted to a lie detector test.

"We're not a law firm, Mr. Burchell," Ellington said, almost chuckling. "It's for our protection."

"But if we hired you, you should be worried about protecting us!" Jay countered.

"Mr. Burchell, these are our rules." Ellington had obviously had enough of Jay's inquiring. "If you won't abide by them, then we're just wasting each other's time here."

Stopping him, Carlton raised a hand and said, "It's fine, they'll do it."

"Dad!" Tyler shouted.

"Think of it as practice. I speak from experience; it takes more than one polygraph to clear your name," Carlton continued. Walking by his son, he patted him on the shoulder and left the room.

New York FBI Field Office

The interrogation rooms of the Field Office were on a lower floor than the bullpen. Lined up side by side, the rooms had glass windows on three sides, two of which were one-way mirrors. All were empty except for one; one in which Kim Doherty sat in. In the center of the interrogation room was a square, metal table with two chairs across from one another. Kim sat at one of them with her sketchpad and a pen in front of her. She appeared to be drawing a picture as she awaited Chambers or whoever to come and question her. The door finally came open and in walked Agent Marlow.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Ms. Doherty," Marlow greeted her as she entered. "Thank you for coming in. I'm Special Agent Jan Marlow, and I have to remind you that you're not under arrest, but you are entitled to a lawyer if you'd like one during the interview."

"Sure," Kim replied, still drawing.

"You'd like me to bring you a lawyer?"

"Yeah, his name's Jay Burchell and he's innocent of whatever charges are being brought on him."

Elysium Fields

Elsewhere, at the Fog mansion in Elysium Fields, Jay sat at the table across from Ellington. The video camera faced him while tiny, white pads attached to wire that were in turn attached to the polygraph machine were stuck onto Jay's inner elbow. The laptop screen showed no signs of stress or a rise in blood pressure so far.

"Excellent job so far, Mr. Burchell," Ellington congratulated him.

"When are we gonna talk about Will?" Jay impatiently asked.

"Would you like to talk about him now?"

"What do you wanna know?" Jay replied, eager to give up as much information on Will as he could.

"Did Will Traveler come up with the idea for this trip?"

"That depends, we all – "

"Yes or no answer please," Ellington interrupted. "Did Will Traveler come up with the idea for this trip?"

"Yes,"

"Did you ever help Will Traveler handle explosives?"

Confused by the question, Jay leaned forward with a strange expression on his face. "What kind of question is that?"

"Did you ever help Will Traveler handle explosives?"

New York FBI Field Office

"Look I am tired of this. You keep talking about Jay when you should be looking into Will!" Kim said to Marlow.

"Will Traveler who doesn't seem to exist," Marlow retorted.

In the viewing room, behind the one-way mirror, Chambers entered and asked, "Has she got anything yet?"

"Not yet, but she'll get there," Borjes replied, confident in his partner's abilities.

Back in the interrogation room, Marlow shot Kim a confused look. "You're a photographer and you don't have a single picture of him?!"

"I explained that – he avoided cameras – but if you want a picture," she set the picture she just drew in front of Marlow, "how 'bout this?"

"Agent Marlow, you're needed in the strategy room," Chambers said as he opened the door. Marlow shifted her glance from the drawing up to Chambers. "Borjes said it's urgent.

Elysium Fields

"Did you ever help Will Traveler handle explosives?" Ellington asked Tyler.

Tyler looked at him with the same stunned face Jay had when Ellington asked him. Vigorously shaking his head, he answered, "No."

However, the laptop said otherwise. It showed Tyler's pulse rocketing up the charts. "You're lying," Ellington called him out.

Sighing, Tyler answered truthfully, "We once used nitroglycerin to break into a friend's house. Will showed us how to bust the door lock with it, but it was just a," he paused for a moment, "just a prank."

Ellington nodded and went on to the next question. "Did Will ever mention if he knew your father?"

Shaking his head at the preposterousness of the question, Tyler replied, "No!"

New York Field Office

Sitting at the table with his cup of coffee, Chambers asked Kim, "I know you're an artist, but you have a day job. You work at an art gallery, right?"

"Yes," Kim answered smugly, unsure of what this had to do with anything.

"Have you ever sold a forgery?"

"No!"

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because we check the details of our paintings – the brushstrokes, the provenance," Kim answered. "What's this got to do with Jay?"

"We do the same thing on every case, and when I add up the details about your boyfriend, I'm not buying it."

"Yeah? Well, you don't know him."

"Maybe you don't either."

Elysium Fields

"Did Will ever mention that he had military training?" Ellington questioned.

"What is with these questions?!" Jay demanded to know. "Do you know something about Will you're not telling us?!"

Ignoring Jay's questions, Ellington moved on to the next question. "Do you hold the U.S. government responsible for your father's death, Mr. Burchell?"

A shocked look crossed Jay's face. He blinked his eyes several times and licked the back of his teeth. It was an odd question to ask, and a question that had nothing to do Jay's honesty whatsoever.

"What is this – an interrogation or an interview?!" Jay shouted.

"Answer the question, please. Do you hold the U.S. government responsible for –"

"I'm done!" Jay interceded. Getting up from his chair, he ripped the pad off his elbow.

"Mr. Burchell –"

"I said I'm done!"

Ellington angrily shook his head and laid the pen down on his notepad as Jay exited the room.

Several minutes later, after questioning Tyler for some time, Ellington said, "Last question: when I say the name Will Traveler now, what do you think? Open answer."

Eyeing the video camera in front of him, Tyler collected his thoughts. Scoffing at the mention of Will, he answered, "I think my best friend turned out to be an enemy of the state."

New York FBI Field Office

"Your boyfriend phoned in another bomb threat in order to save Tyler Fog from my men. That's a federal offense."

"He was scared!" Kim defended. "He said people knew this was gonna happen."

"Like the people he was working with?" Chambers asked, sliding a photo of the burned body from the ruins of the Drexler to her. "The people who killed two of my men," he showed her more photos of the FBI agents and the van that were hit, "so that your boyfriend and Tyler Fog could escape the city?"

Kim stared down at the morbid photographs before her. The burned body found at the Drexler was a disgusting sight; it churned Kim's stomach just to glance at it. The pictures of the dead FBI agents and the burned van were of no help either. Staring at them, she wondered how her boyfriend of two years could be associated with people who would do this.

New Haven, CT – Two Weeks Ago

Jay and Kim sat next to one another on the leather brown couch in Kim's house. Jay wore a white shirt and his boxers while Kim sported a black tank top and shorts. Kim smiled at Jay and leaned forward to kiss him.

"I'm not goin' anywhere, Jay," she told him. "And in two months, when you and the boys get this whole road trip out of the way, I'll be waiting."

Jay smiled brightly at her and wrapped his arms around her waist. Kim grabbed Jay's face with her slender fingers and pulled him closer to her. She wrapped her lips around his as their eyes closed.

"Jay's not a killer," Kim muttered, trying to hold back her tears.

As if he didn't believe a word Kim was saying, Chambers sat back in his chair and stared into Kim's eyes.

Elysium Fields

From the fireplace blazed a small but tall orange flame. Its embers scattered about the recreational room like tree leaves in the fall. Leaning against the wall next to the flame was Jay. He hung his head low and clung to the edge of the brick wall surrounding the fireplace. He was wearing a navy blue sweater and cargo pants. The jean jacket he wore was now clinging onto the arm of a chair for dear life. On the other side of the room, Tyler sat on the edge of the pool table. Waiting for his father and John Ellington to return, he played around with the cue ball in his hands.

The sound of footsteps began to approach the two boys. They both turned and watched as Carlton, Ellington, and two of Carlton's guards entered the room. "Fallbrook Dunn is recommending you leave the country immediately," Carlton told his son and Jay.

"What?!" Jay quizzically asked.

"It is your best option," Ellington leaned against the pool table, "at least until we can get a name and apply the appropriate pressure."

"We got a name – Will Traveler!"

"A ghost who according to your interviews has taught you how to build improvised explosives."

"It's the best lead we have, right?" Tyler said.

"And you're asking the only two material witnesses to leave the country," Jay added.

"Switzerland has strong extradition laws. We can contact you – "

"What about extraordinary rendition?" Jay interrupted.

"What the hell is that?" Tyler wanted to know.

"The U.S. has been known to kidnap terror suspects abroad," Ellington informed him. Just the thought of being kidnapped and taken away was frightening to Tyler. He couldn't imagine being gagged and blindfolded and hauled away to some holding cell in the middle of nowhere. The thought made him shiver. "We'll make arrangements to prevent that."

"It's not something you can prevent."

"How long would we have to be out of the country?" Tyler asked.

"A month. Maybe a year," Ellington answered.

Jay scoffed at the idea of being away from Kim and hiding for that long. He was always the kind of person who never ran or hid from anything. He was the fixer – the one who made sure things always turned out good for everybody.

Noticing his friend wasn't buying into the idea, Tyler pointed out to him, "It makes sense, Jay!"

Jay shook his head, though, and began to put his denim jacket back on. Trying to stop him, Carlton said, "You want Will to be the answer here, but somebody's made sure he can't help your case."

"Well then we dig deeper. Look, I am not leaving Kim to deal with this mess!" Jay replied.

"Jay," Carlton's voice was soft and almost fatherly, "when the sky starts falling she'll leave you. I know, trust me."

"Well you don't know her," Jay furiously stated. Shaking his head, he reached into the inner pocket of his jacket. From the guards' point of view it looked like he was reaching for a weapon. They immediately took action and grabbed Jay. Twisting his other arm behind his back, one of the guards slammed his chest against the pool table while the other held a TASER to him.

"Pull you're hand out," the guard ordered.

Jay slowly pulled his hand out of his jacket pocket and showed Carlton the picture in his hand. It was the photo of him, Tyler, and Will at his birthday. Jay and Tyler were drinking beers in the picture while Will's face was concealed by his video camera. Carlton Fog took the photo from him and ordered his guard to back off. Jay stood up straight and looked at his best friend's father.

"Kim is the only person who has actually tried to help us," he told Carlton.

"C'mon, Jay, let's just get somewhere safe and build our case," Tyler said, attempting to reason with his friend.

"You don't get it! You're life is the same whether you're here or three-thousand miles away! My life is here!" Jay asserted, stamping his finger on the pool table. Dismayed, he shook his head forcefully and stomped out of the room.

New York FBI Field Office

Marlow and Borjes were walking along a corridor alongside a woman in a white lab coat. Lining the wall on both sides were doors to various rooms, some open and some closed. As they walked, Marlow held onto a photograph of the burned body from the Drexler.

"So this could be Will Traveler?" she asked the woman in the lab coat. She handed the photograph back to the woman, who looked down at it.

"We can't tell for sure, but the age, height, and weight range all match the girl's description," the woman replied as she checked the chart on her clipboard. As she, Borjes, and Marlow came to a stop, the woman looked at the drawing of Will Kim had drawn. "You know what they say: if the cranial facial makeup fits."

"I owe a beer, Jenny," Borjes flirted as he took the photos from her.

"In this case, I won't hold my breath," the woman, Jenny, replied with a smile.

Elsewhere, Kim was on her way out of the field office. She walked through the bullpen on her way to the elevator when Agent Chambers appeared from his office. "Ms. Doherty!" he called, following her.

"I've been here all night. They said that I could go home," Kim told him.

"I looked into Will Traveler," Chambers said, grabbing Kim's attention. "If this guy does exist, and I'm not saying he does, then he's probably in our morgue, burnt beyond recognition."

"You mean he was in the Drexler?" Kim asked, surprised.

"I mean right now, Traveler can't help your boyfriend," Chambers replied. Suddenly, the sound of a phone ringing alerted him. He looked down at his belt, where his cellphone was attached to, but it wasn't his phone that was ringing. In front of him, Kim searched her purse for her phone. Once she pulled it out, Chambers snatched it out her hands and walked away with it.

"This could be it!" he shouted to his men. "Are we set up for a trace?"

"Yes, sir."

Chambers turned to Kim and gave her back her phone as he grabbed her by her arms. "If it's Burchell, keep him on the line. If you let him know you're here, I will have you arrested for obstructing justice. Clear?!"

Kim nodded her head and took the phone from Agent Chambers. Chambers let go of her shoulders and yelled, "Quiet the hell down!"

"Hello."

"Hello? Hey, baby, are you okay?" Jay asked. "Has the FBI contacted you?"

Hesitantly, Kim looked over at Chambers, who was listening in on the call. Chambers stared back at her with a stern expression. "No."

"Ah, good," Jay sighed. "But they're probably monitoring your phone so we'll keep it short."

"He's using VOIP," an agent told Chambers. "Heavily encrypted."

"Can we pull a number?"

"It just takes more time."

"Look, I made a mistake," Jay told Kim. "I came up here, somewhere I thought I could get help, and I'm not finding it."

"How are you?" Kim asked.

"How am I? I've been better," Jay replied. Veering off the subject, he asked, "Look, have you had any luck finding a picture of Will?"

"No."

"Is there anything on the news yet?"

"No."

The sound of Kim's voice gave away that something wasn't right. She sounded nervous and hesitant; in a time like this, Jay was sure she'd have more to save than 'no'. "Kim, what's goin' on? Is this a bad time to talk?" he asked, hoping to get something more out of her.

"Five seconds till we have the number," the agent said to Chambers.

"No, it's fine," Kim muttered as she looked at the agent's computer screen. Six out of the ten numbers of the phone Jay was using were already on the screen. Kim turned away from the placed her thumb on one of the keys on her cellphone.

At his desk, the agent stared at his computer screen; the numbers had stopped appearing and the time had paused. He pressed a few buttons on the keyboard, but nothing happened. A second later, a window popped up notifying him that the trace had failed. "We lost the trace," he told Chambers. Distressed, Chambers took the headset off his head and set it on the table. The agent looked back at him and said, "I got a partial; we can still check it with NSA."

Watching Chambers move across the room, Kim closed her phone and began to put it back into her purse. "I'm sorry. Phone just dropped the call," she said to Chambers who stood face-to-face with her.

"Randall, take Ms. Doherty back to your office in case Burchell calls back," Chambers instructed one of his subordinates. He knew Kim had intentionally dropped the call, but he wasn't going to let her defeat him. Slightly smirking, he watched as Agent Randall took Kim by her shoulders and led her out of the bullpen into his office.

New Haven, CT – Two Weeks Ago

"This is a big deal for me!" Kim said to Jay as she lay beside him on her couch. "New job, new apartment –"

"New York!" Jay interjected.

Kim giggled at his playfulness and rested her head on her palm. "I thought you wanted me to move to New York?"

"I do, I do," Jay assured her. "I just thought we would move there together."

Kim noticed the distraught look on her beloved's face. She gave off a restless sigh and said, "I'm not goin' anywhere, Jay."

Elysium Fields

Peeved, Jay hung up the phone and exited the room, making sure to quietly shut the door behind him. He looked both left and right down the hallway to make sure no one was around. Everything was quite peaceful and calm – no guards patrolling the mansion, Ellington was nowhere to be found, and Carlton was hopefully still sleeping. Cautiously, Jay headed for the stairs and began to climb when he heard a voice call for him.

"Can I help you find something there, Jay?" Carlton asked from the top of the staircase. He was dressed in a tan-colored dress shirt with brown stripes and a matching brown suit. The bright glow of the sun peering through the wide window behind him cast a dark shadow on his face.

"Yeah, I was looking for a computer. I just wanted to check on Will myself," Jay replied. He let go of the railing and began to walk backwards down the stairs.

"I'm sorry about the rough treatment last night," Carlton said as he made his way down the stairs. "There's an old saying. The sins of the father shall be visited upon the son. After my problems with my government, I swore to myself that I would never let anything like that happen to Tyler or his brother."

"I'm not sure Europe is any safer than staying here," Jay said, staring Carlton in the face.

"Jay, are you leery of Fallbrook Dunn or of me?" Carlton asked, putting a hand on Jay's back. He led Jay away from the staircase and down a hallway with windows running across one side.

"I just don't trust this guy, Ellington. I mean, how well do you really know him?"

"I don't. I don't. But I asked the firm to send someone who could make Saddam Hussein look like a saint!" Carlton answered. Fervently, he added, "I trust they sent the best guy."

The two men stopped walking halfway down the shining corridor. Jay pursed his lips and crossed his arms over his chest. He wanted so badly to trust Carlton considering he was his best friend's father, but Ellington and his actions made it so hard for him to do so. Jay didn't want to question Carlton Fog's loyalty, but he wasn't so sure Carlton was out for his and Tyler's best interests.

"You know, I have always been impressed by your initiative. You're a self starter, I like that," Carlton complimented Jay.

"Thank you, sir," Jay replied, nodding.

"Unfortunately, it's a trait that Tyler lacks. He – uh – can't really handle life's complications, not on his own. He needs you to be there for him."

Jay looked at Carlton and could tell he was trying to persuade Jay into going with Tyler to Switzerland. As much as he cared for Tyler, he didn't want to leave Kim alone. On the other hand, he couldn't bear to leave Tyler on his own as well. After all, everything Carlton had said was true. Tyler never was one to take the initiative; he always seemed to need others to be there for him.

About three minutes later, Jay and Carlton headed outside followed by two armed guards. They walked across the vast stretch of grass in front of Carlton's home and found themselves in front of a black sedan with Tyler and Ellington. The car was parked on an expanse of gravel that led away from the Elysium Fields mansion. The back seat door was open with Tyler standing next to it, looking at Jay and his father come down the grass.

"Take care, son," Carlton said to Tyler. He took a step forward and added, "I love you."

The look on Tyler's face was one of pleasant surprise. It wasn't everyday he heard his father tell him he loved him. He stepped into his father's arms and embraced him. Patting Carlton on the back, Tyler replied, "I love you too, dad."

After the heartening embrace, Tyler let go of his father and turned his attention to his friend. In an attempt to comfort Jay, he said, "Switzerland's an amazing place, Jay."

Everyone turned to Jay and wondered about his decision. Jay lifted his eyes from the gravel path and met with Ellington's eyes. The stoic expression Ellington wore showed no signs of emotion. Jay looked away from him and took a step towards the back seat. Before he could enter, though, Carlton extended his hand out for a handshake. Jay straightened his back and grasped the man's hand. He then turned and entered the car followed by Tyler, who shared a momentary glance of compassion with his father. Carlton shut the door behind Tyler as he faced Ellington. With a nod, he motioned for Ellington to take the boys away.

New Haven, CT – 10 Months Ago

Sitting on a recliner with his feet up on a footrest was Will, who was reading an issue of Newsweek as he waited for his friends. Other than the pair of black and white Puma sneakers he wore Will looked quite classy and dashing. He wore a gray and sepia striped dress shirt with a white undershirt and a pair of crisp, ironed dark blue jeans. His quiet reading was interrupted by the angry voice coming down the stairs. He looked up from his magazine to see Tyler yelling into his phone once again.

"It's not true, Dad! No!" Tyler shouted as he passed through the foyer. "Dad, I can handle things myself! Okay?!"

Following him down the stairs were Jay and Kim. Jay wore a white sweater while Kim sported a magenta-colored blouse. They both looked at Tyler as they came down the stairs. Tyler noticed them staring at him and looked up to see Jay with a look on his face that seemed to ask, "What's wrong?"

Tyler shook his head angrily and waved his arms in front of him to express how irritated he was at the moment. Returning to his phone call, he said, "Yeah, no, I get it. You're trying to teach me a lesson, right? Father of the year! I'm grateful!"

Tyler bitterly hung up his phone and exited the house, mumbling something as he shut the door behind him. With an amused face, Jay looked over to Will and asked, "Another fight with Carlton?"

"Yup."

"Guy sounds like a jerk."

"Yeah, but who knows the real story," Will replied.

"Did he say anything to you?" Jay asked.

"No, but I dunno, maybe it'll be good for him, y'know. Learning to live on his own," Will said, closing his magazine. "Anyway, if it weren't for Carlton, Tyler wouldn't even be here."

Elysium Fields

As the black sedan made its way down the winding path of stones and dirt, Jay stared out at the tall, green trees before him. In the front seat, Ellington looked at him through the rearview mirror and said, "Glad you could join us, Mr. Burchell." He flashed Jay an awkward smile.

"You guys do this type of thing a lot?" Tyler asked, leaning his head back against the seat. He could almost see the blue sky passed the claws and fingers of trees overhead.

"More often than you might think," Ellington answered cryptically. He looked back into the rearview mirror to see the sorrowful look on Jay's face. "Don't worry, Mr. Burchell. If your time abroad extends, we can always arrange to have Ms. Doherty brought over. Europe is a photographer's dream."

"Watch out!" Tyler suddenly pointed out.

There was a black police car coming down the same road from the opposite end. Ellington stepped on the brake, causing the car to skid to a stop. The police car stopped at the same time and the woman inside ejected her seatbelt. As she began to get out of her seat, Jay and Tyler frantically slouched down in their seats in a pitiful attempt to conceal themselves.

"Stay down," Ellington ordered them as he unlocked his door. "Stay out of sight. I'll handle this."

He shut the door behind him and strolled over to the policewoman. From the back seat, Jay and Tyler could only imagine what Ellington was saying to the woman. He was gesturing towards the car with a half-baked smile.

Suddenly realizing he had never mentioned Kim was a photographer, Jay turned to Tyler and asked, "When did you tell him about Kim?"

Still trying to hide, Tyler tried to squeeze his knees down behind the driver's seat. "What? What does that have to do with anything?"

"I never told him she was a photographer."

"It's his job to know the details," Tyler excused.

Outside the car, the policewoman headed towards Ellington's car, prompting Jay and Tyler's hearts to begin thumping. Tyler's breathing got heavier and louder as he stared outside. His eyes became wild with fright as he saw Ellington turn towards the woman and put three bullets into her chest.

"Holy shit!" he shrieked as the cop fell to her knees.

"Go! This guy is not here to help us!" Jay told Tyler as he unstrapped his seatbelt.

Tyler ripped his seatbelt off his waist and shoulder and opened the door. The two boys dashed into the woods as Ellington bent over to pick up the policewoman. However, he heard the boys running from the car and turned his attention towards them instead. Aiming his gun in their direction, he fired off two shots.

A few yards away, Jay and Tyler were frantically rushing through the forest. Brushing aside tree branches and small plants in their way, the two boys sprinted further into the dense forest.

"C'mon! There's an airstrip!" Tyler told Jay as he led him through the trees.

New York FBI Field Office

Passing by a woman on the phone at her desk, Chambers entered his office and slipped out of his black jacket. Right behind him, Marlow walked in with a file in her hand.

"Sir, can I talk to you about something? The case file," she said.

"You did good work today," Chambers told her as he took a seat.

"Thank you sir, but that's not why I'm here," Marlow replied. Looking up from the folder he was reading through, Chambers gave his full attention to Marlow. "I think we're making a mistake by assuming Burchell and Fog are alone in this."

"No one's assuming anything. In fact, I said that the one thing we shouldn't do is make assumptions."

"It's just that typically, terrorists strike for political reasons, not personal ones," Marlow said.

"Tell that to Timothy McVeigh's victims," Chambers replied, referring to the Oklahoma City Bomber.

"If I were running – "

"Agent Marlow, we both know there's only one reason why I'm in charge of this unit instead of you," Chambers interrupted. "Now, if you catch these guys, close up this case, no one will remember the mistakes you made in the past. Are we going to have a problem here?"

"No, sir."

Elysium Fields

Running through the field of tall grass, Jay and Tyler arrived at an empty airfield. They ran over to the hangar and walked around it to see if anyone was around. Luckily, the entire place was abandoned. Tyler went over to the door and tried to pull it open, but it was locked. He desperately wrenched at the doorknob, but still it wouldn't move. Taking a couple steps back, he reeled his leg back to kick the door down. However, the door was far too strong to be moved by his kick.

"Damn it, it's locked," he muttered. Looking over at Jay, he saw a red fire extinguisher behind him. He quickly grabbed it and smashed the window of the door with it. Using his elbow to knock out the rest of the glass, he reached over and unlocked the door.

The hangar was quite small, but there was a lot of room. In the center was a tiny airplane, the kind with rotors on the nose. The boys ran passed the plane as they searched for a phone.

"We should call my dad just in case Ellington comes back," Tyler said as he ran around a pile of crates.

"Maybe your father knew about this," Jay suggested, looking around the hangar for a phone.

"My father hired that firm, not Ellington."

Through the window in front of them, Jay and Tyler could see Ellington's car pull up beside the hangar. The wheels screeched as the car stopped and Ellington stepped out. Tyler turned to Jay and ran to find a hiding spot.

Standing next to his car, Ellington applied a silencer to his pistol. He twisted the small, elongated attachment to the barrel and headed towards the hangar. He found the shards of glass scattered about the ground so the two boys were certainly there. Keeping his finger on the trigger, Ellington calmly and slowly walked through the hangar. His eerie whistling and the booming, ominous sound of his footsteps echoed throughout the hangar.

Tyler sat with his back to a table and his hands wrapped around his knees. He could feel his heart jumping out of his chest and his hands trembling. The mere sound of Ellington's sinister humming amplified his fear. He bit down hard on his lips to ensure no sound would come out.

Hiding behind a stack of metal crates, Jay tried his hardest to stay calm. It was increasingly difficult, though, as the sound of Ellington's polished shoes eased towards his location. He looked over to his right and saw Tyler tensely shaking in the corner. Suddenly, Ellington stifled his whistling and listened. Turning to his right, he pointed his weapon directly at Tyler. Tyler jumped back at the sight of the barrel staring back at him. Ellington was a second away from pulling the trigger when Jay lunged at him. Jay grabbed Ellington by the arms and tackled him to the ground, knocking over a stack of wooden crates as they fell.

Jay scrambled to his feet and threw a punch at Ellington. However, the bald, suited man blocked with his left forearm and jabbed Jay square in the face. He threw another punch, but this time, Jay blocked it. Following it up, though, Ellington got his fingers around Jay. Pushing the young man forward, Ellington slammed his back against a metal drawer. With his free hand, he reached for a metal pike and swung it down at Jay. Jay defended himself, though; grabbing Ellington's forearms and knocking him to the ground.

"Tyler, the gun!" he shouted as he fell alongside Ellington.

Wrestling on the ground for the pike, Jay and Ellington thrashed around on their backs. Ellington rolled Jay over and attempted to stab him with the tool, but Jay pushed him back on the ground. Ellington wrapped his legs around Jay's lower body, though, and lifted himself up. Forcing Jay to fall on his back, Ellington jabbed the metal pike down at his eye. With all his strength, Jay impeded Ellington long enough for Tyler to strike him with a large, metal wrench. Ellington fell over on his side, bleeding from the back of the head, as Jay sighed with relief.

Tyler dropped the wrench to the ground and began searching for something to tie Ellington up with. He found a spool of rubber tubing inside the metal drawer while Jay grabbed Ellington. Together, they wrapped the rubber tubing around his torso and tied his ankles together. Jay began slapping him across the face to waken him, but he didn't reply. He stood up and kicked Ellington several times in the legs to get a rise out of him. Finally, he lifted his head wearily and looked up.

Jay picked up his glasses and put them on his face as he asked, "Who the hell are you?!"

Ellington chuckled at Jay and refused to answer. His laughing subsided, though, once he saw Jay reach for the gun and point it at his leg.

"Who are you working for?" Jay demanded to know.

Ellington still refused to answer, though. He simply sighed and stared at Jay. Walking up to Ellington, Tyler crouched down and pulled on Ellington's loosened, black tie. "Did my father know about this?" he asked. More volatile than Jay, Tyler jerked Ellington forward and said, "You tell me!"

"Your father is the least of your worries," Ellington coolly replied. Tyler let him go and walked away. However, Jay stepped forward as soon as he heard a phone ring. He searched Ellington's pockets and found a ringing, silver cellphone. Opening it, Jay put the phone to Ellington's ear as he pointed the gun at his chest. "Yes?" Ellington answered into the phone.

"Are the packages ready?" the person on the other end replied.

"It's done."

"Good." The man hung up, inciting Jay to hang up as well. He closed Ellington's cellphone and dropped it beside the man's broken and tired body.

Rubbing his face, Jay stood up and asked, "There was never going to be a plane was there? You tell us who hired you!"

"Now they want us dead?!" Tyler muttered behind Jay.

"Who hired you?!" Jay shouted as he stuck the gun in Ellington's face.

"Pull the trigger," Ellington said resignedly.

Jay held the gun in front of Ellington for a moment then dropped it. He crouched down beside the man and flashed him a repulsed look.

"Jay, grab his keys. Let's go," Tyler said as he walked towards the door.

Jay reached into Ellington's pocket and picked out the key to his car. Mockingly showing off the key to him, Jay turned and followed Tyler out the hangar. The two sprinted out of the hangar and down the airstrip towards the black sedan. Tyler opened the driver's side door and hopped into the seat as Jay got into the seat beside him. He started the engine and promptly bounded away from the airstrip.

"Good morning. It is just after seven AM here on the east coast," a voice on the TV said.

Carlton Fog stood in front of a TV in his kitchen. There was a bottle of scotch on the counter beside him and a half-empty cup in his hand.

"As we face a new day, I am here to assure you that the unsettling events of yesterday will not change America."

Carlton took one more swig of the alcoholic beverage as he stared into the face of President Shears on the TV. He was standing on a stage with two flags beside him and the emblem of the White House behind him. There were two black microphones positioned in front of him on the pedestal as he spoke. On the bottom of the screen, a blue scorecard read 'Breaking News' then 'President Shears'.

"From all accounts, we have been struck by an enemy within, and we will not rest until the people who are responsible are brought to justice. Every resource at my disposal has been mobilized because we will not tolerate the loss of even one American life to terrorism."

New York FBI Field Office

"Marlow!" Borjes shouted as he paced around a corner. "Ecklund PD called. They found an abandoned car in a ditch. The car was purchased in Queens."

Marlow sprung up from her chair and grabbed her jacket. "Location?"

"Upstate just off property owned by Dante Defense Systems," Borjes answered as he adjusted the collar on his jacket.

"Let me guess, a Fog company," Marlow sarcastically said.

"Elysium," Borjes replied. Raising his eyebrows, he added, "You were right."

"I'm always right," Marlow jokingly replied as she followed Borjes down the hall.

Manhattan, NY

The door to Kim Doherty's apartment budged open and she walked in. Her apartment didn't even look the same anymore. Everything in it was practically gone; her pictures were taken away, books and magazines were gone, even her old photo albums were missing. Kim dropped her purse on the counter by the doorway and sighed. Chambers walked up behind her and looked at the mess his agents had made.

"This is what your life is gonna be like until your boyfriend comes in," he told her.

"This isn't standard practice, is it – you giving me a ride home?" Kim asked, uncomfortably crossing her arms across her chest.

"We're gonna be on the same side of this, Ms. Doherty," Chambers said. "It's time for you to accept that."

Kim looked away from Chambers as he turned and exited the apartment. The door shut behind him as Kim walked over to her couch. Sinking deep into the cushion, she looked at the picture frame left on her coffee table. The glass over the photograph was shattered. Behind it was a photo of her and Jay passionately smiling.

Elysium Fields

Finally, Jay and Tyler made it out of the back roads. Tyler came to a stop in front of the main road and looked both ways. He started to make a right back towards Carlton Fog's mansion when Jay stopped him.

"What are you doing?" Jay inquired, grabbing the steering wheel.

"I wanna go back," Tyler replied.

"What?!"

"He didn't know about this, Jay! He wouldn't sell us out!"

Jay sighed angrily and leaned his head back. He stared out the window as his mind raced with memories of all of Tyler's fights and quarrels with his father.

"If it weren't for Carlton, Tyler wouldn't even be here," Jay remembered Will saying.

"He can't really handle life's complications. He needs you to be there for him," he could Carlton telling him again. As he turned to Tyler, he could tell Tyler did, in fact, need him. He never noticed it before, but now, it was more than obvious. Tyler appeared worried and hesitant. He had a despairing look on his face as he rubbed his chin and uneasily looked left and right.

"Either way," Jay started as Tyler looked into his eyes, "we can't go back. It's just us now."

Heeding his friend's words and remembering Jay would've gone to Switzerland for him, Tyler switched his turn signal and went left down the long stretch of pavement.

Elsewhere, a tall, well-built man with short, platinum blonde hair began to take off his sterling silver watch. He tossed the watch into a tiny black basket along with his cellphone. Fixing the cufflink on his pinstriped suit, the blonde-haired man walked under the arches of a metal detector. He was cleared and the guard beside the metal detector slid the basket over to him. Picking his valuables out of the basket, the man placed his watch back on his hand and listened to his cellphone ring. For a second, he stopped to check the caller ID.

Flipping the black phone open, he asked, "What's the status?"

"Burchell and Fog have been eliminated."

Slightly nodding, the man replied, "Good." He hung the phone up and stuck it back into his pocket. With a rhapsodic smirk on his strong, squared face, the blonde-haired man opened and passed through a blue door marked by a circular emblem with a bald eagle in its center. Around the outer rim of the emblem were the words: Department of Homeland Security.


	3. Chapter 3: New Haven

**Chapter 3: New Haven**

Jay, Tyler, and Will rode in the blue car Tyler's father had bought him before he moved to New Haven. It was a fairly big SUV that hauled the three boys and their luggage through the long, empty stretch of highway on their way to the Big Apple. Tyler slouched back in his seat with his elbow against the window and his hand at twelve o'clock on the steering wheel. He was going ninety down the highway even though the black and white sign they had just passed by stated the limit was sixty-five. In the passenger seat beside him, Will looked out the open window as the cool July breeze blew his dark brown hair across his face. Looking out his window, Will could see Jay's reflection in the side mirror. Jay had apparently fallen asleep in the back seat; his head rested against the window as his body lightly heaved up and down with every breath.

The boys had been on the road for about an hour and a half when Tyler turned into the dusty, gravel parking lot of a small town open market. There were hundreds of tables and tents set up all around the grassy campgrounds with hundreds of civilians weaving in and out and around them. Two teenage girls with bags of items they had just bought strode passed the boys as they exited Tyler's blue car. Will stretched his arms out and unleashed a satisfied yawn into the country air. Beside him, Jay rubbed the dirt out his eyes with his hand as Tyler came around the front of the car.

"So what are we doing here again?" Tyler asked, leaning against the car's grill and shoving his hands into his pockets.

"This is a road trip! Not all trips consist of fancy bars, exclusive clubs, and decked-out malls!" Will replied. "This is our chance to finally see the real world – get out to the countryside, dirty up our sneakers, and see what down-home really looks like."

"I'd rather spend my day in a nice hotel, drinking a cold one, and getting pampered by a beautiful Brazilian chick," Tyler said jokingly.

"See? That's what's wrong with our country – we'd rather live in excess than temperance."

"Like you indulge less than we do!" Jay exclaimed, slapping Will on the back as he walked towards the flea market.

"I never said that!" Will retorted as he followed Jay across the gravel lot. Tyler chuckled as he walked away from his car and followed his friends toward one of the tables.

Franklin County – 2 Days Later

Jay couldn't believe it had only been two days since he and his best friends were traveling on the road for the trip they had planned for months. He could still practically smell the familiar stench of Tyler's car mixing with the fresh air of the open road. Jay warily looked around the flea market as he strolled around the grassy plaza.

Wearing a blue Cubs hat and a denim jacket, he walked through a flea market in search of clothes. He and Tyler had but a few sets of clothes left and they were beginning to stink. He passed by a vendor selling flowers of all sorts, such as lilies, roses, and dandelions. He stopped and began to scan the market for anyone selling clothes. Anything would have helped – pants, shirts, even socks. Finally, he spotted a tall, chubby man standing behind a table with clothes laid out on top of it. There were only two people checking out the vendor.

He quickly walked over to the man's table and looked at the used clothes he'd set out before him. At the other end of the table, the chubby man was counting the money a woman had handed him for a t-shirt and a jacket. Jay looked back to the clothes and found a pair of pants that were just the right size.

New York FBI Field Office

"What do we got?!" Chambers wanted to know. He had just walked in on his men in the briefing office. Several of them were seated at the table with pieces of paper scattered about along with empty boxes of Chinese takeout.

One of the nicely-dressed agents walked up to Agent Chambers and pointed out, "Upstate New York. Franklin County sheriff sent these images." Shown on the panoramic video screen mounted on the wall were photographs of the Mustang Tyler had crashed while running from the cops. "Partial prints suggest Fog was driving the vehicle."

"Franklin County – that's where Marlow and Borjes are headed. If our suspects are still in the area, they'll be looking for food, clothing, transportation. Let's think people, where would these guys go?!"

Franklin County

"How much for the jeans?" Jay asked the vendor, setting the pair of denim jeans he found in front of him. Situated atop a small table beside the vendor was a tiny TV showing footage from the Drexler that had been circulating around the news for two days. Jay looked at his own face on the TV screen then turned to the vendor. He had a wary look on his face as he eyed Jay. Wryly laughing, Jay said, "I know man. I've been getting that all day. I look like that guy, right?"

The vendor nodded his head and light-heartedly laughed alongside Jay. However, the look on his face drained away in less than a second as he wondered whether that truly was Jay on the news. He looked Jay up and down, but his eyes stopped at Jay's hands. He pulled out a bundle of bills from his wallet and handed fifteen dollars to the man.

"Will this cover it?" he asked.

The vendor took the money and replied, "Yeah. You want a bag?"

"No, it's okay. I got one already," Jay quickly replied as he shoved the pants into his backpack. Frantically, he turned and walked away from the vendor. As he walked through the flea market, the vendor's eyes followed him. Turning around, Jay noticed the man was beginning to follow him through the crowd of shoppers. His heart beginning to race, Jay walked beneath a white banner and around the side of an old pickup truck parked beside a table of fruits and vegetables. He stared through the open window of the truck and saw the vendor still watching him. Unremittingly, Jay walked towards another tent with the man still behind him. A man with a dresser full of clothes walked by, allowing Jay to duck behind him and run. Once the man passed, the vendor stopped walking and looked around. Jay had disappeared.

A few yards away, Jay hopped into the car he and Tyler had stolen from Ellington. He tossed his bag into the passenger seat and started the engine. Without even strapping on his seatbelt, he drove on forward. However, he stopped when two women walked across the street. As he waited for the women to finish crossing, the vendor appeared to the left of him. Turning, Jay faced the vendor eye-to-eye. His heart suddenly jumping, he looked away and sped out of the flea market as the vendor fumbled for his cellphone.

Tolman Airfield

A police officer holding onto the leash of a dog walked through the hangar of the airstrip as the dog sniffed around the small airplane. There were several other policemen patrolling the area while their vehicles sat right outside the hangar. Off to the side, in front of a black SUV, were two policemen taking notes on the scene. Pulling up behind the two policemen was a black sedan. Agents Marlow and Borjes stepped out of the sedan to be greeted by the two cops.

"How much evidence you think these scrubs have contaminated?" Borjes asked as he closed the passenger side door behind him.

"Don't get cocky," Marlow warned him. "These locals were on the scene an hour before us. They must be doin' something right."

"Can I help you two?" one of the policemen asked as he walked up to the two agents.

Marlow reached into the inside of her black jacket and pulled out her badge. Flashing it to the police officer, she said, "Special Agent Marlow, New York Field Office. This is Agent Borjes."

"Right. Deputy Sheriff Roach," the officer introduced himself. "Deceased's name is John Ellington. Worked for a crisis management firm out of Washington."

"We understand he was on retainer to Carlton Fog," Marlow said as she walked towards the hangar.

"Yup, and according to the prints we found inside, he was here with Jay Burchell and Tyler Fog."

"Nice work," Marlow told him as she flashed a know-it-all look at Borjes, who scoffed back at her.

Franklin County

Jay rushed through the door of his and Tyler's hotel room and closed the door with a bang. Throwing his backpack onto the bed, he ripped off his blue baseball cap and walked over to Tyler. His friend was standing in the bathroom with the door open. He had no shirt on and he appeared to be cutting his hair with a pair of scissors. Jay picked up a small box of hair dye on the sink and checked it out.

"What are you doing?" Jay asked.

"Changing my hair," Tyler answered as he continued on.

"Auburn Sun?" Jay read off. "Oh, you're gonna be a red head now?!"

"Yeah, that's all they had at the store!" Tyler retorted, snatching the box of hair dye out of Jay's hands.

"If we wanna stay inconspicuous, we don't walk around with bad dye jobs and haircuts that make us look like criminals," Jay told his friend. Nothing he said seemed to get through to Tyler's thick skull though. Tyler ran his fingers through his hair, combing his dark brown locks back against the nape of his neck. He set his hands on the edge of the sink and stared into his reflection through the milky mirror. Slamming his hand down on the sink, Jay shouted, "Hey! We need to be smart!"

Suddenly, a knock at the front door quieted the two down. Both men turned their heads towards the door. Another knock came along with a woman shouting, "House keeping!"

Jay put his index finger to his lips, indicating to Tyler to keep quiet. He ran over to the front door and leaned his ear against the painted wood. "Uh yeah, can you please come back?"

"Office said you checked out already!" the woman replied.

"Yeah, but I haven't packed yet. Can you please just come back?"

"Okay."

Waiting to hear the jingle of keys walk away, Jay kept his ear pressed against the door. A second later, he turned back towards Tyler and said, "Let's go!"

Jay grabbed his backpack off the bed and began to pick out new clothes. As he did, a news report of a body found at Tolman Airfield was broadcasted to their TV. Turning curiously, Jay and Tyler stared at the TV as the camera man aimed his camera at a body covered by a white tarp. The only part of the body that was visible were its feet, which were bound together by red rubber tubing – the same kind Jay and Tyler had used to subdue Ellington.

"Earlier today, a body was found bound and gagged inside a hangar at Tolman Airfield," the reporter pronounced.

Pointing a jittery finger at the TV, Tyler exclaimed, "We left Ellington alive this morning! We didn't kill him."

"And we didn't blow up the Drexler either," Jay replied, eyes still focused on the news broadcast.

Tyler fell onto the edge of the bed as he stared at the TV screen. "He tried to kill us," he softly muttered, "and then he ends up dead. What does that mean?!"

"It means we need to keep moving!" Jay replied, turning back to his backpack. He suddenly stopped searching through his clothes and said, "Maybe that hair dye wasn't such a bad idea."

Tolman Airfield

White latex gloves covering his hands, Borjes crouched beside Ellington's pale, limp body and snapped several photographs with a black camera. Making sure to get a snapshot of every angle and every damage asserted on the body, he constantly pressed the button on the top of his camera as he listened to Marlow.

"Have you ever seen a wound like this before?" Marlow asked.

"Sure," Borjes monotonously said.

"What do you mean 'sure'?"

"Slow bleeding kill shot. Femoral artery," Borjes replied. He stood up and put the camera back into his jacket pocket. "I've seen a couple in Iraq. It's an insurgency torture technique."

"Not the kind of thing you learn in the Ivy League," Marlow commented, observing Ellington's bloodied body.

"Burchell was ROTC. His father was First Recon. These guys invented stuff like that."

"Maybe, but is that the kind of thing you'd teach your kid?" Marlow wondered. She kept staring down at Ellington's body, trying to figure out what other kinds of things the boys had done to him. However, she was pulled from her thoughts by an officer who came up to her and Borjes.

"Agent Marlow, Burchell's been spotted in a black sedan," the officer relayed.

"Where?"

"Red Side Motel. Half hour south."

"Half an hour south?" Marlow repeated. Glancing at her partner, she suggested, "What do you say we close that gap?"

Thirty minutes later, Borjes kicked open the door of the motel room Jay and Tyler were staying in. The door frame splintered and several wooden shards flew across the room. Pointing their guns forward, Borjes, Marlow, and several other FBI agents and local police entered the room.

"FBI! Everyone down!" an agent shouted as they entered.

Marlow headed towards the bathroom while Borjes checked the kitchen. There was no one in either room. Borjes went on to check the closet, but found nothing. In the bathroom, Marlow turned around from checking the bathtub when she saw the sink. It was colored red from hair dye with several pieces of hair scattered around. Holstering her weapon, she pulled out tweezers and lifted the bottle of red dye up.

"Tell New York that our suspects' descriptions just changed," Marlow said.

Confused, Borjes walked up behind Marlow to see what she was talking about. Seeing the empty bottle of dye, he angrily gritted his teeth and walked away, shaking his head.

Somewhere Outside Franklin County

The green, grassy field seemed endless with its long stretches of tall grass, abundance of bushes, and grave marks of trees. Stepping through the thicket of grass were Jay and Tyler, whose appearances hadn't changed as Marlow and Borjes had thought. The only thing they'd changed was their outfits. Tyler was now sporting a black polo sweater with a pair of denim jeans and white sneakers. He wore the sweater with its sleeves pulled up to his elbows, showing the shiny, golden watch on his wrist. Meanwhile, Jay had changed into a maroon undershirt with a gray hooded sweatshirt and blue jeans.

"You think they'll buy it – that we dyed our hair and changed our look?" Tyler asked as he trampled upon the tall stalks of grass.

"That's the first thing you learn in law school. Play to the jury's expectations and they'll believe everything you say," Jay replied.

"Hey, I think we're goin' in the wrong direction," Tyler stated as he looked up at the bright, sunlit sky. "Yeah, I think we're heading south, Jay."

"I know."

"What?" Tyler replied. Jay didn't answer and continued walking. Angered, Tyler shouted, "Hey! The border's that way!"

"We're not going to Canada," Jay told him, turning around.

"What do you wanna do then, huh, Jay? You wanna go back to New York? Huh? Sign some autographs?" Tyler mocked.

"We tried it your way, Tyler. It almost got us killed!" Jay responded as he continued walking on.

"So are you blaming me for what happened?"

"No."

"Then who? My dad?"

Jay faced his friend and sternly told him, "We're goin' back to Yale."

"No! That's suicide! There's no way I'm goin' back there!" Tyler rebutted. The look on his face illustrated his fear and anxiety. He clearly didn't want to return to New Haven. Shaking his head, Tyler turned back around and started walking back up the field.

"Oh you have a better idea?!" Jay asked as he followed Tyler.

"Yeah! I do!" Tyler said as he turned back to Jay and pointed a stiff finger at him. "It's about seventy miles north from here. It's got good beer, bacon, and way fewer guns, Jay!" Tyler stopped walking and added, "They sent a man to kill us!"

"I'm not sayin' your dad knew about Ellington. But whoever sent him, whoever he and Will were working for – do you really think they're gonna be stopped by matters of jurisdiction?"

"I'm not goin' back Jay."

"Why not?"

"New Haven'll be crawling with cops!" Tyler reasoned.

"So will every border crossing into Canada!" Defeated, Tyler pulled his eyes away from Jay and sighed. Jay stepped towards his friend and said, "That's why we're going back to where this all started. New Haven is the only place to find hard evidence that Will ever existed. It's the first step to clearing our names!"

Bitterly shaking his head, Jay turned around and headed back down the field. Behind him, Tyler placed his hands on his hips and watched as Jay walked away. Biting his lower lip, he fiercely shook his head and looked up at the sky above him. Annoyed, he sighed loudly and forcefully and stomped after Jay.

"Wait up," Tyler murmured under his breath like a child.

Manhattan, NY

"I am standing right outside the home of Kim Doherty, reported to be the girlfriend of Drexler Bombing suspect, Jay Burchell," a female reporter said.

Kim immediately turned around and looked at the TV screen. She could see the front of her apartment building in the background while a reporter spoke into the camera with a microphone in her hand. Dropping her purse on the counter, she walked over to the window and moved aside the white curtains. Outside her home, on the sidewalk, was the reporter from the TV with her crew. Parked alongside them was a white WIXA 5 news van.

"Needless to say, the question on everybody's mind is: whether or not Kim Doherty knew of yesterday's events before they happened," the reporter continued.

Kim vehemently shook her head as she crossed her arms over her chest. She stared back at the TV screen, but her ears were drawn away by the sound of something vibrating atop the TV set. Looking up from the screen, she noticed her cellphone was vibrating. She was sure, though, that it was either the FBI again or someone from the media wanting an interview with her. With annoyance filling her body to the brink, she ignored the vibrating phone and continued watching the news.

Elsewhere, sitting in a parked black car was Agent Fred Chambers. Angled down from the ceiling of the car was a small TV screen that showed the very same news broadcast Kim was watching from her apartment. Chambers held a phone to his ear as he leaned back and watched the TV. Several times, he heard the phone on the other end ring, but never did he hear anyone answer. Sighing, he closed the phone and clipped it back onto his belt.

"She's not answering," he said as the door opened.

"You want our men to keep the paparazzi on her?" the agent outside the car asked.

Chambers shook his head and stepped out of the vehicle. "No. Ms. Doherty should get used to her celebrity status."

Chambers walked passed Agent Randall and around the back of the black car. They were parked outside the motel Jay and Tyler had been staying at. He had just arrived a minute ago when he saw the news broadcast about Kim. As Chambers walked towards the motel room, Marlow came up to greet him.

"Sir," she said.

"Walk with me."

"We interviewed the staff, combed the room; we think Burchell and Fog might've left a little less than an hour ago. County's fully mobilized, but it's not much," Marlow informed her superior.

"What about the dead body at the airfield?"

"He worked for a firm in Washington, DC. He was hired by Carlton Fog," Marlow answered.

Chambers nodded and walked up to the front door of the motel room. Standing there was Borjes, who had taken off the black jacket he was wearing before. He greeted Chambers and said, "Sir, we found their old clothes in a dumpster out back."

"So they changed their clothes and their look," Chambers noted as he entered the room. "Our suspects are starting to adapt. I want every cop in the county watching the Canadian border. Get me mock-ups of Burchell and Fog's new look and get me as much press here as possible."

"You want press, sir?" Marlow asked, confused that her boss actually wanted mounds of media attention on his case.

"If Burchell and Fog are gonna make a run for Canada, I'm gonna make sure that everybody knows about it."

Somewhere Outside Franklin County

There was a used car lot somewhere outside Franklin County with about a dozen rows of parked cars. They were tightly packed together, but there was enough room to allow Jay and Tyler to move around them. The car lot was surrounded on three sides by trees and dense shrubs. Situated beside the cars was a medium-sized one-story building with several windows. Fortunately, all the windows were shut and the blinds were closed over them. Jay and Tyler walked around the cars in search of one they could easily steal and hotwire.

"If we're gonna steal a car, it's best if we pick one that's not gonna be missed for a while," Jay suggested as he looked around for a car.

"Wait, you've stolen a car?" Tyler asked, surprised Jay knew about this kind of thing.

"Yeah, it was kind of a right of passage where I grew up," Jay replied as he looked into the tinted window of a red two-door.

"Well I'm impressed, Jay."

"Don't be. I went to Yale to get away from stuff like this."

Tyler walked over to a gold sedan and leaned over to look through the windshield. However, he heard the sirens of police car screaming and ducked behind the side of the car. He grabbed Jay by the tail of his shirt and pulled him down with him. Both boys hugged the side of the gold sedan, waiting for the police car to roll by. Jay peeked out through the windshield and saw the car had passed.

"That's another one heading north," Tyler observed. "You were right on that call."

"This one looks good," Jay said as he checked the gold sedan in front of them. He walked away from the car and bent down to pick up a rock.

"What are you doing?"

"We smash the window," Jay answered. "Nine times outta ten they leave the key in the glove compartment."

"Wait," Tyler said. He moved between Jay and the car and grabbed the black door handle. Pulling on it, he opened the door. With a smug look on his face, he turned to Jay and said, "Nine times out of ten, cars like these are left unlocked. Easier to get blue book value from the insurance company."

Shrugging, Jay dropped the rock to his feet and leaned to look into the car. Tyler sat on the edge of the passenger seat and opened the glove compartment. Inside was the key. Smiling, he grabbed it and showed it to Jay, who took it from his hands and ran around the car.

"That was the easy part," Tyler grumbled.

"What's the hard part?"

"New Haven."

Washington, DC

From his window, the blonde-haired man could see the Washington Monument, a pristine white obelisk that cast an angular shadow on the bone-white grounds of the National Mall in Washington, DC. Though from the blonde-haired man's office, it looked to only be several yards away, the United States Capitol building was actually about a mile away from the towering structure. Dozens of yards away, with a view of the Reflecting Pool, was the building, which held the blonde-haired man's office. He calmly stood in front of his window, his hands clasped behind his back, and his feet spread equally apart. He was dressed in a professional outfit consisting of a nice pinstriped black suit, ironed matching slacks, and polished black shoes. He also wore a tie that was colored with an amalgamation of dark blue, violet, and gold shades. Standing on the other side of his desk was a mysterious man with short, gray hair. He wore a black jacket and black slacks with a white and gray dress shirt underneath. Steadily, his hands were placed in front of him, folded together.

"We're still on course," the mysterious man said. "This is working."

"Where are we with the damage assessment?" the blonde-haired man requested.

"I took care of Ellington," the mysterious man gravely answered.

Out of the corner of his eye, the blonde-haired man stared down at the light brown carpet of his office. It was clean, but there was an odd, ruffled look about it. The blonde-haired man looked away and replied, "I don't mean Ellington."

"I'm still getting reports from the Drexler, but right now we can assume that everything in the museum has been taken care of."

"The entire collection?"

"Yes, sir."

Without even looking back, the blonde-haired man nodded his head and said, "Thank you." Behind him, the mysterious man turned and walked away, while he remained still and pensive before the large window. Reflected in his eyes – the oddly bright blue eyes that resembled a proud husky's – was his own profile mixed amongst the geometric architecture and lush trees of Capitol Hill.

Franklin County

In the parking lot of the Red Side Motel in Franklin County was a horde of reporters from every news station in New York. All of the reporters held out microphones to Agent Chambers while their cameramen wielded heavy, black cameras on their shoulders. Chambers stood in the center of the mayhem with Agent Randall standing to the side of him and one of the local police officers on the other side. A short, black-haired man in a navy blue jacket with the letters FBI sewn onto the back stood off to the side, holding a placard with mockups of what Jay and Tyler could look like now. Chambers pointed to it as he spoke to the press.

"Knowing that Burchell and Fog have altered their appearance, our forensic artists have created these mockups of their possible new looks."

In between the doorway of the motel room, Borjes and Marlow looked on at their boss. Marlow appeared jaded and annoyed as she leaned against the door frame with her arms crossed. Borjes held onto the frame of the door as he watched Agent Chambers with a lackadaisical smile.

"I think the boss likes talkin' to them more than us," Borjes muttered.

"Of course he does. When he talks to us, he doesn't get to see himself on TV later."

"Prints were found on the crime scene so until we rule out their involvement, Burchell and Fog should be considered armed and dangerous," Chambers announced. "Thank you." Nodding to the reporters, he turned around and headed back towards the motel room. The reporters attempted to call him back for questions and answers, but he refused.

Marlow and Borjes stepped away from the doorway as Chambers and Randall stepped in. The sight of flashing camera lights behind them blinded Borjes' eyes as he stepped aside. Chambers walked over beside the bathroom door before facing his two lead agents.

"Carlton Fog is being brought into New York. I'm heading down there now to question him," Chambers told them. Pointing at Marlow and Borjes, he continued, "I want you two to head north and help oversee the border operation."

Chambers was about to exit the room when Marlow called, "Actually sir, I'd like to pursue another course of action."

Chambers turned his head and crossed his arms across his chest. There was a look on his face that suggested he was being annoyed by Marlow. "You have a better idea?"

"Just a different one. We're working off a nascent profile, but if they were running for the border why drive south from the airport?" Marlow wondered.

"They could've easily gotten turned around."

"Then why take the time to cut their hair? We all know that every second counts for a fugitive. They would've been better off heading straight for Canada."

"Interesting theory," Chambers said, nodding. "If they did head south where would you place them?"

"I think they're running scared, and if they don't flee the country they're gonna be looking for shelter with friends, family, whoever they can trust. Maybe back to New York – another Fog house. But we've already got units covering those, so I'd like to have permission to go to New Haven."

"New Haven?" Chambers repeated. He obviously didn't agree with Marlow's plan of action; nothing she ever said seemed to be in line with his take on the team's course. "You think they'd be crazy enough to go back there?"

"Even if I'm wrong at least we'll get more interviews and help build a profile."

Chambers stared at Marlow as if he were trying to read her. Still squinting, he turned to Borjes and asked, "What do you think, Borjes?"

Taken aback by the boss' sudden regard for his opinion, Borjes lifted his chin up and glanced back and forth between Chambers and Marlow. Marlow looked back at him then strayed away; she looked as if she was going to burst out laughing. Borjes turned away from his partner and faced Chambers. Clearing his throat, he said, "Don't know, sir, but I think we're more effective on the move than sitting at a border crossing."

Borjes looked back at Marlow who had a look of agreement on her face. Nodding his head, Chambers turned to Marlow and said, "Okay. You've got twenty-four hours."

Manhattan, NY

Fog Tower was a tall, looming piece of architecture that sat in the corner of a plaza, surrounded by rows of finely cut bushes, stone statues, and spitting water fountains. It was the main building of operations for Fog Financial, Carlton Fog's company. It consisted of nearly five-hundred rooms with up to thirty floors. Standing in front of it was Carlton Fog himself. He stood in front of the oddly shaped Fog Financial markup sitting before the stone staircase that led to the revolving front doors of Fog Tower.

There were already dozens of reporters and news crews circling around the millionaire. All of them were doing their best to get a clear shot of Carlton or at least get close enough for his voice to travel into the microphones.

"Events such as those in the past thirty-six hours remind us that it's become increasingly difficult to offer protection and solace to those we hold dear," Carlton declared. "I'm being called into the FBI today because I was contacted by my son in the hours following the bombing of the Drexler Museum. Tyler sounded distraught; he professed his innocence and I did what any father would do – I asked him to come home. My hope was that I could persuade them to turn themselves into the authorities."

Somewhere on the road, Jay and Tyler listened to the press conference through the radio of their stolen car. Tyler reached forward to turn up the volume as he and Jay listened. As Jay heard Carlton profess his hope to persuade the boys to turn themselves in, he shook his head in disagreement and scoffed at his friend.

"You still trust him now?" Jay asked.

"He has to say that, Jay! He can't admit he tried to help us!" Tyler defended him.

"Although a man ended up dead, I will say this: I still believe that my son is innocent of this crime just as I am sure he is innocent of the bombing of the Drexler Museum," Carlton asserted. Then, in a soft, paternal tone, he added, "Tyler, if you are there, I want you to know that I am here to help you and I will do anything in my power to ensure you have a fair trial and – "

Suddenly, Jay pressed the black button in, turning the radio off. Tyler leaped forward in his seat and glared at Jay. "What the hell?!" he shouted.

"He's just saying that to protect himself!" Jay accused. Tyler angrily shook his head and stared out the window, resting his chin on his balled hand. "Look, I'm just gonna say this once: you wouldn't have even been in that house with me and Will if your father hadn't cut you off! Doesn't that make you question his loyalty?"

Tyler swung his hand at the air and said, "I don't wanna hear anymore of it, Jay."

"Fine, but as long as we're sticking together your father is not an option."

"Yeah, then, what's the plan?!"

"Will and I left some boxes at a friend's house. It had his chemistry work, clothing – things we could take to the feds," Jay revealed.

"Uh… why didn't I know about this?"

"Cause we left them at Nell's," Jay answered hesitantly.

Hearing that name made Tyler cringe. He shook his head over and over again as he stared outside the window. "This just gets better and better."

"Look, whatever happened between you and Nell is way less important than what we'll find."

Manhattan, NY

From the lobby of her apartment building, Kim could already see the hounds awaiting her outside. She scanned the area for any other possible exit and remembered there was an exit out back. Hoping there would be no reporters waiting for her there, she turned and headed to the back exit of the apartment building. Grabbing the doorknob, she twisted it and stepped outside. Unfortunately, there was already a pack of reporters waiting for her outside. They immediately rushed at her like a swarm of vultures on a rotting carcass. Pointing their microphones and cameras at her, the reporters began asking questions that Kim refused to answer.

Irritated, Kim sighed and tried to hide her face behind the collar of her black jacket. However, even as she crossed the street to a yellow taxi cab, the reporters followed her. Pushing her way through the rough crowd, she entered the back seat of the taxi. She slammed the door behind her as the reporters continued attempting to gain her attention.

"Lloyd Rogier Gallery on 99th," Kim said to the taxi driver.

Turning to get a good look at her, the driver asked in a Brooklyn accent, "You a movie star or somethin'?"

"Just drive."

About ten minutes later, the yellow cab pulled up to the front of a large art gallery in midtown Manhattan. Unlocking the doors of the gallery was a tall, lanky man in a light blue dress shirt. Kim stepped out of the cab, paid the driver, and greeted him.

"Hey, Rogier."

"Oh, Kim, I tried to call you," the man said.

"Yeah, sorry, I had to turn my cell off. Every TV station and newspaper in town has been calling," Kim complained. Almost smiling, she added, "Kinda nice to have work to run to."

"Yeah, about that," Rogier began.

"Oh," Kim interrupted. She already knew what was coming.

"Listen, I'm not firing you, but until this whole thing gets resolved – "

"Yeah, sure."

"It's just not the kind of publicity we need for the gallery right now."

"Yeah, I understand," Kim apprehensively nodded.

Motioning towards the inside of the art gallery, Rogier said, "Well, I've got your stuff inside."

"Okay…"

Rogier was about to push open the door when he remembered something. Timidly, he added, "And I need your key."

"Right. Right. I got it," Kim muttered as she opened her purse.

Several minutes later, she found herself sitting inside a café with a latte, a muffin, and a red bag full of all her belongings in front of it. With a lackadaisical look on her face, she sipped her latte. Setting the cup back down on the circular table, she reached into the red plastic bag and drew out a camera. Being a photographer, Kim always kept a camera with her. Even at work, she knew there'd be something she saw she'd like to snap a shot of. Remembering Jay had been searching for a picture of Will, Kim's eyes grew wide and she stuffed the camera into her purse.

New Haven, CT

A number of police cars patrolled the campus of Yale University as students and policemen alike strolled about. All of the policemen, who were dressed in navy blue uniforms, handed out fliers with Jay and Tyler's faces on them. Some pasted them up on walls, light posts, and bulletin boards. There seemed to be FBI agents and cops all around the area talking to students about Jay and Tyler.

At the graduate housing area of the city, Jay and Tyler had found Nell's house, a tall, blue, two-story building that very much resembled their former castle. After picking the lock, Jay and Tyler snuck into the basement of the house and shut the door behind them.

"C'mon, let's hurry it up. I already counted like five cops since we got here," Tyler muttered as he peeked out the window.

"We'll grab Will's stuff and get outta here," Jay said as he ran over to the space beneath the stairs. There were piles of cardboard boxes stacked all around the floor of the basement. Jay grabbed several of them and checked whether or not they were Will's.

"So did Nell ever ask why I wasn't storing boxes with her?" Tyler asked, curious.

"She was more interested in why you left without calling," Jay answered as he dug through the boxes. Standing guard, Tyler sneered at Jay and rolled his eyes. Moving aside more boxes, Jay said, "Alright look for Will's notes, chemistry papers, housing records – anything that proves he existed."

Jumping into the forest of boxes, Tyler lifted the top off one of them and searched for any of Will's things. He found a packet of papers and flipped through them. Noticing none of them had Will's name on them, he lifted it up and searched through the other items packed underneath it. In front of him, Jay shoved another box aside.

"What the hell?"

"What's up?" Tyler wondered.

"Will labeled all his boxes. They're not here," Jay replied, shaking his head.

"Maybe Nell moved 'em," Tyler said hopefully.

"No, they're not here! How could that be? We only dropped them off three days ago."

Still sifting through the items in the boxes, Tyler found pieces of paper grouped together with a blue paper clip. Lifting the papers up to the light, he mumbled, "That's all the time they needed to set us up."

"What are those?" Jay asked, walking over to see what was in Tyler's hands.

"Floor plans for the Drexler."

Jay's eyes lit up and he reached down for the other items in the box. Dragging them all out and setting them on the ground, he began to read each piece of paper. There were hundreds of different documents inside the box – some were random while others were related to terrorism and the Drexler Museum. Jay shook his head disgustedly as he read the papers.

"There's printouts on explosives, blast patterns," Jay paused, "and casualty estimates." Confused and angered at the same time, he defiantly slammed the stack of paper on top of the box. Fuming, he ran his hand through his hair and bent over on his knees.

Beside him, sitting beside another box of Will's supposed belongings, Tyler anxiously read through a notebook labeled 'chemical engineering notes'. "They didn't take Will's stuff, they just made it look like it was mine." Surprised, Jay turned his head and leaned over to look at what was in Tyler's hand. Showing him the notebook, Tyler continued, "This is Will's chemical engineering research and it's in my handwriting."

Sighing, Jay bent down to grab another stack of documents. "Well here's like a hundred pages about how the government is no longer on the side of the people and we need to fight back."

"What kind of person could pull something like this off?" Tyler wondered.

"Someone who knew our stuff was here!"

"Will?"

"Will's dead," Jay said, shaking his head 'no'. "What about Nell?"

"C'mon Jay, we know her."

"All I'm saying is everyone can be involved with this!"

"With what?!" a feminine voice suddenly interceded. Drawn to the top of the staircase, Jay and Tyler both craned their necks to look up. They both jolted up out of their seats and stepped back away from the boxes as a very beautiful young woman came down the steps. Wearing a long, brown tank top and tight blue jeans, the girl had shoulder-length light brown hair with highlights and green eyes. She looked at Jay and Tyler with perplexed eyes as she walked down the staircase. Noticing Jay and Tyler were getting ready to book out of her basement, she said, "Look, if I really thought you two were terrorists I would've called the cops already."

"Hi," Tyler said awkwardly.

"Hi," the girl responded with a sarcastic smile.

Feeling the tension between the two, Jay decided to interject and asked, "What happened to our stuff, Nell?"

"What are you talking about? You dropped off –"

"Someone switched out our things! Did you know about it?" Jay questioned her.

"No."

"What about your roommates?"

"They left last week. I'm the only one – "

"You sure know one else knew about these boxes?!"

"Yes, Jay, I'm sure!" Nell retorted.

"Relax Jay. She didn't know about it," Tyler said, lifting a box up and setting it on top of another. "We got in, so could anybody else. And besides, I know when she's lying."

"How?"

"Because she didn't do it until we started dating," Tyler said a little vengefully as he stared Nell in her almond-shaped green eyes.

In downtown New Haven, Agents Borjes and Marlow were posted outside City Hall. A string of female college students strolled by, prompting Borjes to smile and wave at them endearingly. They smiled back as he turned his head to watch their slender, curvy bodies go. Marlow walked over to him from inside City Hall, carrying a blue folder she held open.

"Think it's too late to go back to school?" Borjes asked as he continued to gawk at the college students.

"Better put those feelings on hold because this is who were gonna be spending our next twenty-four hours with – Burchell and Fog's known friends, lovers, and acquaintances," Marlow said as she handed Borjes the blue folder.

"This is gonna be a good day," Borjes sighed as he walked around the car and opened the driver's side door.

New York FBI Field Office

A plaque labeled 'Interview 10-360' marked the metal blue door to an interrogation room in the back of the New York Field Office. Inside the room, seated at the steel table, was Carlton Fog, his hands folded on the table in front of him. Watching him was a tiny video camera mounted on a miniature tripod on the table. Carlton's cold, steely blue eyes stared straight into the eye of the video camera. As he heard the door open, though, his eyes were drawn away and he looked at Agent Chambers.

"Anyone ask you if you'd like anything to drink?" Chambers asked mockingly as he sipped on a mug of coffee.

"They did forty minutes ago," Carlton replied. "The fact that it never came, I assume, is part of your strategy to make me feel uneasy, as are the video camera and the recording equipment in the next room."

"Are you uneasy, Mr. Fog?"

"No," Carlton calmly replied, moving his head slightly left and right. "I'm simply concerned."

"As you should be," Chambers said, sitting down across from Carlton. "What did you do with your son yesterday?"

"What I thought best."

"Really? Because from my point-of-view, it looked like you were messing with a federal investigation. Getting involved in something you should not be getting involved in."

"Tyler is my son."

"It's a little late to play the concerned father, Carl, don't you think?"

"You have children, Agent Chambers, don't you? A daughter, right?" Carlton asked, flipping the page on his interrogator. "How would you react if she were in danger?"

"You listen to me. The only reason that I have not booked me is – "

"Because you can't," Carlton finished for him.

"Because you're more used to me out of jail. Tyler might try and contact you. But I wanna make one thing clear: it is my job to bring your son in. And if you get in the way of that, there will be consequences," Chambers threatened.

"Maybe I should've brought my lawyer."

"You know where your son and his friend are?"

"No."

Sensing Carlton Fog was lying, Chambers nodded his head and smiled smugly. Staring Carlton down, he said, "You get a call from them to one of your houses, I wanna hear about it. You wake up with an idea of where they might be, I wanna hear about it." Checking to see if his words sunk into Carlton's thick skull, Chambers stayed standing for a little while. Mentally, he nodded approval to himself and turned to leave the room. As he started for the door, Carlton Fog interrupted him.

"Agent Chambers," Carlton said, standing up. "Listen, this must be hard for you. I'm sure you're under a tremendous amount of pressure from your superiors to wrap this case up." 

"Nothing I can't manage."

"Or middle-manage as the case may be." Carlton impishly tugged on Chamber's tie to straighten it and fold over the collar of his jacket. He smiled arrogantly at Agent Chambers and patted him on the shoulder. Turning to leave the room, he added, "Have a good day."

Manhattan, NY

On the corner of a street was Kim, peering through the window of a shop called Mini Photo. It was a shop specializing in printing out photographs. She had taken her digital camera there to develop the pictures that were still in there. Hopefully, some of them, or at least even one, had a shot of Will Traveler. That was all she needed, all she hoped for. As she anxiously stared through the window, a photograph of Jay passed through the printer and dropped into the small box below the platform. Her eyes were drawn to the picture of her beloved boyfriend as another picture of Tyler on the couch sleeping dropped on top of it and a picture of Jay and Kim together fell on top of that. A smile crossed her face as she looked at the photograph of her and Jay. The expressions on their faces were so peaceful and caring; they wore genuine smiles and you could tell there was true love between them. Another photograph fell atop the picture of her and Jay. However, it didn't make her sad at all. In fact, she finally felt relieved and joyful after such a treacherous day. On the photograph were Jay, Tyler, and finally, Will. His face was in plain sight with good, bright lighting illuminating it. Surely, this would help prove Jay and Tyler's innocence, or at least make the FBI believe there was a third party involved. Kim pleasantly smiled at the photograph and anxiously waited for the rest of the photos to be developed.

Less than five minutes later, the rest of the photos were done being developed. With a smile on her face, Kim entered the Mini Photo shop and greeted the man at the register. He placed her developed photos in a small, paper bag and handed them to Kim as she traded him a couple dollars. As he opened the cash register, Kim stuffed the photos into her black purse and headed out the front door. Quickly, she walked down the street to catch a taxicab. On her way down the sidewalk, a man with bleached blonde hair passed by and accidentally ran into her.

"Sorry miss, I didn't see you," the man politely apologized, holding his hand forward to excuse himself.

"No, it's my fault," Kim replied, still smiling brightly. She turned away from the man and headed across the street as the bleached blonde-haired man smirked and walked the other direction.

New Haven, CT

Jay moved aside another box of his and Will's items as Nell came down the stairs. Looking up at her, Jay asked, "What about the rest of the stuff?"

"We ditch it," Tyler suggested.

"Trash doesn't come until Tuesday," Nell told him.

Pausing to put on his backpack, Jay said, "That's not fast enough." His eyes began to pace around the room until he saw a bottle of lighter fluid on top of a shelf. He quickly walked over to it and grabbed it. "But this might be. Alright, pack up the rest of the stuff. I'll start the grill."

Jay bent over to pick up one of the boxes then turned to leave. Noticing Tyler was simply sitting atop one of the boxes, moping around, he turned to his friend and sternly said, "Tyler, let's go."

As he pushed through the back door, Tyler stood up and began packing. Behind him, Nell picked up a pair of black hats and showed them to Tyler. "Thought you could use these – y'know, to blend it," she said sincerely.

Refusing to look her in the eyes, Tyler replied coldly, "We're okay."

Hearing the tension in his voice, Nell set the hats down on top of the box and said, "Tyler, I'm only trying to help you."

"Look, I don't have a lot of time for this okay, Nell?"

"Hey, you ran from here last week!" Nell replied. "You couldn't leave on that trip – "

"Hey, I didn't like this place when we were goin' to school!"

"Okay," Nell softly replied, looking down at her feet.

Turning around, Tyler stared at Nell and said, "Hey, look, people have expectations about who I am, what I could do for them."

With a questioning look, Nell stepped forward and asked, "Do you really think I only went out with you 'cause of your father?"

"Well, when you applied for a job at his company, things just got a little confusing."

"You told me you were cool with that."

"But I became part of the interview process, didn't I?" Tyler asked, sounding obviously hurt. He backed from Nell as she continued to step closer to him.

"Tyler," she whispered, "look at me." Tyler tried to avert his eyes from her, but Nell grabbed him by the chin and cheek and twisted his face around. "Do you think I'd be helping you right now if it was just about a job?"

Half-confused and half-surprised, Tyler looked Nell in the eyes. A part of him wanted to believe everything he said while the other part wanted nothing to do with her. He had obviously been hurt that she applied for a job at his father's company, but there were apparently still blossoming feelings between the two. Nell touched his soft lips with her slender finger then moved in for the kiss. As her lips touched his, she clasped her hands around her head. For a second, Tyler opened his eyes and stared up at the ceiling of the basement, as if asking God if this was the right thing to do. Before he could get an answer, though, Nell stuck her tongue into his mouth, forcing him to lunge at her. With one hand grasping her waist and another caressing the back of her head, Tyler reciprocated Nell's loving kiss.

Yale Campus Library – 4 Months Ago

Leaning back against a tall bookshelf, Tyler held Nell in his arms as he mauled her with his lips. She grabbed at his face and caressed it as she stuck her tongue down his throat. Giggling, Nell began to reach up Tyler's shirt as he reached up the back of hers. Unfortunately, they were interrupted by the sound of the door opening and closing. Through the small slits above and below the shelves of books, the two lovebirds could see the shadow of a person walking across the floor. Staring out at the figure, Tyler noticed it was Will, carrying a book in one hand as he strolled towards the end of the library.

"Hold on," he said, smiling. The little boy in him wanted to go sneak up on Will and scare the living hell out of him while the horny young man wanted to keep kissing his girl. Tyler let go of Nell and started for Will, but she stopped him.

Grabbing Tyler by his shoulders, Nell said, "No. No. No. Stay here."

Ignoring Nell, even as she nibbled at his neck, Tyler kept staring back at Will's direction and muttered, "No, that was Will."

Slowly, he walked to the end of the aisle and peeked out the side. He saw Will pass through another aisle of books and head towards the carols at the back. The carols were small rooms students could use to study quietly in solitude.

"Wait, he's got a carol down here?" Tyler asked himself. He never took Will to be an avid studier; of course, he read a lot of books and knew a lot about the world, but studying never seemed to be his kind of thing. Jay was the one who was always studying all by himself. Will was more of a learn-hands-on kind of guy. Besides, Tyler had never seen Will go to the library that much, let alone stay there for a couple hours on end. Tyler began to follow Will down the hallway, but Nell grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him back.

"Hey, I didn't get you through that investment class so you can come down here and hang out with Will," Nell seductively said as she pulled Tyler back into her embrace. She pushed Tyler up against the book shelf and began kissing him once more.

As Nell let go of Tyler and pulled away from him, Tyler leaned back against the wall. Remembering Will had a carol at the library, he hurriedly ran out to the backyard to notify Jay. In the back, Jay was tossing the papers from the boxes into another box that sat on top of the grill. The box was already on fire and its contents were going to be ashes in no time.

"Jay, there's one more place we need to look for evidence on Will!" Tyler informed him. "He had a carol at the cross campus library."

"Engineers don't have offices there, are you sure?" Jay asked.

Nodding vigorously, Tyler looked at Nell, who smiled back at Jay. Understanding the look, Jay nodded his head and went back to burning the documents as a call came through for Nell. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small, black cellphone. "Hello. Yeah?"

Tyler picked up a large stack of papers from the box he carried and tossed them into the fire. Jay did the same with several notebooks in his box. "How long ago?" Nell asked, sounding worried. "Alright, thanks."

"Who was that?" Tyler asked.

"You have to go. The cops are questioning everyone who knew you and I'm on the list," Nell warned them.

Exchanging glances, Jay and Tyler tossed the rest of the boxes onto the grill and went to grab their backpacks. Tyler unzipped his backpack to put in the sandwich Nell had made for him. He turned to her as he did and mournfully said, "Sorry we had to drag you into this."

Nell simply smiled back as Jay added, "When they get here, just exercise your right to an attorney. When the lawyer arrives you tell him the truth – you came home, found us looking through the boxes, that's all you say. One last thing, when things settle down, can you contact Kim?"

Nodding, Nell replied, "Of course."

"Just tell her I'm okay and I'll be in touch as soon as I can. Thank you." Jay took the hat Nell had given him and placed it on his head. Turning around, he looked left and right and headed down the steps.

Tyler turned to leave as well, but Nell stopped him. "Wait, what should I tell them about your hair, huh?" she asked, fondling Tyler's feathery dark brown locks. "Last time I checked, you're supposed to be a redhead."

"Well, like Jay said, I was wearing a hat and I ran from you," he said flirtatiously. Adjusting the cap around his hair, Tyler grinned at Nell and pecked her on the cheek before running after Jay.

Nell watched Jay and Tyler disappear from view as the sound of a doorbell ringing alerted her. She went back into her home and checked the front door. Agents Borjes and Marlow were standing outside, waiting for an answer. Nell opened the door and looked at the two agents who flashed their badges at her.

"Nell Graham?" Marlow asked.

"Yup, that's me."

"Ms. Graham, I'm Special Agent Marlow with the FBI. We're investigating the Drexler Bombing in New York."

"I'd like a lawyer present," Nell frantically replied.

"Excuse me?" Marlow asked. It was odd that she'd ask for a lawyer that quickly. She eyed Nell and tried to read her, but Borjes interrupted her train of thought.

"Something's burning!" he exclaimed. He was leaning out the side of the porch and staring into the backyard. Reaching for the gun on his holster, Borjes turned to Marlow, who had already pulled out her gun and entered the house. While Marlow walked through the inside of the house, Borjes went around to find the grill with the boxes on fire. He grabbed one of the boxes and pulled it out of the fire as Marlow came outside, pointing her gun.

Angry that they were yet another step behind, Marlow put her hands on her waist and said, "Get on the radio, they're here."

Within minutes, backup police and FBI arrived and began surrounding the perimeter of Nell's house. Marlow stood out on the front porch as Borjes came up the small flight of stairs with his cellphone in hand. The stern, stolid look on Marlow's face showed she was focused on only one thing: finding Jay Burchell and Tyler Fog.

"We got over a hundred New York and Connecticut officers coming in. They'll never get out of the city," Borjes informed his partner as he stuck his cellphone back into his pocket.

"Never say never," Marlow replied.

"Anything from the girl?"

"She's staying silent until a lawyer arrives."

"Maybe she's in on it," Borjes suggested, turning to look through the small glass pane on the front door. Behind it, Nell was being escorted out of her house by another FBI agent. The agent opened the door and led Nell through as Borjes and Marlow watched.

"And maybe she's just trying to buy Burchell and Fog some time."

The Yale University Library was a giant structure of stone and steel. There was a flight of stone steps leading up to the glass doors of the entrance. Tyler and Jay passed by hundreds of students walking in and out of the library as they climbed up the steps. Tyler pushed the door open and stepped inside.

"We're pushing it," Tyler whispered.

"Don't worry. If things get bad, I've got an out," Jay assured him.

Using Nell's campus ID card, Tyler swiped it across a laser scanner. The red light above the scanner turned green and the black gate blocking their way from the library opened. Quickly pushing through, the two boys headed for the staircase to the lower floor. In the meantime, a young student they passed by recognized their faces. He reached into the stack of papers he was carrying. Among them was one flier with Jay and Tyler's faces plastered onto it.

Downstairs, Jay and Tyler arrived on the floor Tyler remembered seeing Will in. They walked down an aisle of books until Tyler stopped and looked left and right. "This is where Will was," he said, pointing down both sides of the hallway.

Yale Campus Library – 4 Months Ago

Grappling Nell around the shoulders, Tyler dragged her down the same hallway he and Jay were standing in now. Nell stopped, however, and pointed in the other direction. "Where are you going? Exit's that way," she said.

"Will went that way. I was thinking maybe we can surprise him. C'mon," Tyler suggested, attempting to pull Nell down the hall with him.

Nell refused to budge, though, as she leered down the hallway at the carol Will entered. "Look, I know he's your friend and all, but he's kinda always given me the creeps," Nell admitted. "Can we just go, please?"

Glancing back at Will's direction, Tyler wondered why in the world Nell would ever be freaked out by Will. After all, he was one of the friendliest and most laid-back guys Tyler had ever met. However, he turned back to Nell to see her flashing him a seductive smile. Sighing, Tyler smiled back and muttered, "Okay," as he followed Nell out the exit.

"You sure this is it?" Jay asked, wanting to make sure they didn't waste anymore time.

"Yeah, this is it," Tyler said, noticing something on one of the carol doors. Walking up to it, he pointed at the edge of the window pane. There was a piece of a map that appeared to have been ripped off the door. "He used to a map to like cover the window." Tyler grabbed the doorknob and twisted it around, but it wouldn't budge. "But it's locked."

"Not for long," Jay mumbled as he drew back and kicked the wooden door open.

New York FBI Field Office

Chambers and an Asian female agent walked together down a small corridor lined with blue doors. The female agent listened intently to Chambers as he barked out orders. "I want to be on with the New Haven Field Office in five, and get the live feed up in the strategy room."

"Yes, sir," the agent replied as she turned a corner.

Chambers walked straight across the room until he saw Kim Doherty being escorted by a burly, African-American agent. The agent led Kim over to Chambers, who greeted her, "Ms. Doherty, what brings you here today? Finally decided to help us?"

"I'm here to help Jay and Tyler," Kim told him.

Chambers nodded at his subordinate and said, "I'll take it from here."

The agent turned and walked away as Kim went on. "I found a picture of Will with Jay and Tyler. That could help right?" She began searching through her large, black purse while following Chambers around the room.

"It wouldn't hurt, but – "

"I was fired today," Kim said hysterically. "But it was a rough day to start. I've been hounded by photographers, I was on the news, and there it was, right in front of me."

Chambers took a seat behind his desk and watched as Kim madly rummaged around her purse for the photographs. A startled and worried look came over Kim's face. "They're not here," she muttered quietly.

"The pictures?"

"Yes, the pictures! That's why I came here!" Kim snapped.

"Maybe you left them at your apartment?" Chambers suggested.

"No, I just had them developed!"

Leaning forward, Chambers calmly said, "Alright. You're distraught, I understand. Why don't you take a seat?"

"No!" Kim shouted back. Suddenly, she remembered running into a man with blonde-hair after getting her photos developed. He appeared to be hiding something behind his back as he apologized for running into her. "That man, there was a man that bumped into me at the store. That's who we need to find."

"Okay. This man who bumped into you, did he somehow reach into your purse?"

"I don't know," Kim started. She stopped, though, and stated, "You don't believe me."

"I'm not saying that."

"You don't have to."

Yale Campus Library

Jay and Tyler were in the carol Will had used during the time they went to college. Tyler looked under a small table for any items Will might've left while Jay stood outside as a lookout. As he saw Tyler leave the carol, Jay ran back to him to see what happened.

"What's up?" he asked.

"There's nothing in there," Tyler angrily said.

"They must've been cleaned out when people left," Jay replied. "But we don't have time to relax. C'mon."

"No!" Tyler retorted. "I know I was the one who didn't wanna come back, but we cannot leave without exhausting all the options."

"I know, but we've looked everywhere."

"Maybe we need to look at things," he suddenly noticed a shoe print on the edge of the table, "a little differently. Why would somebody stand up there?"

Looking up at the tiled ceiling, Jay entered the room and climbed on top of the table. He pressed his hands against one of the tiles on the ceiling and lifted it up. Poking his head up into the small compartment above, he looked around to find a white envelope. "You were right," Jay said as he handed the envelope to Tyler.

The envelope was fairly worn and the top had been cut open. Tyler looked inside to find a small bundle of money that was worth probably ten-thousand dollars. He stared at the money a little longer as Jay found something else. Jay bent down into the light to see what was on the small brochure he found. "What's that?" Tyler curiously asked.

"Train schedule. Deer Harbor's been marked," Jay replied. He showed the schedule to Tyler to showcase the train times heading to Deer Harbor, Maine from New Haven.

"That's Will's hometown," Tyler remembered. "But my dad said there's no listing for him in Maine."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean he hasn't been there." Observing the train schedule more attentively, Jay found a code scribbled onto the bottom of the pamphlet. "Hey, check out this code."

"TC084," Tyler read.

"You think this was some kind of stash point?"

"Why leave it?"

"Maybe he thought he'd make it out of the Drexler alive and come back for it," Jay said as he stuffed the schedule into his pocket. He stood up again and peered up into the ceiling once more. Below him, Tyler unzipped his backpack and placed the envelope full of money inside it. As he warily looked around for anyone near, Jay crouched back down on the table. In his hand was a thick silver gun known as a Desert Eagle. Gasping, Tyler took the gun from Jay and checked it out.

"Guess there's just some people you never really know," he said under his breath.

"Drop your weapon, Fog!" a commanding voice shouted from down the hallway, accompanied by the sound of two cocking guns.

Turning to their rights, Jay and Tyler saw Marlow and Borjes pointing their guns at them from down the hall. They slowly made their way towards the two boys as Jay and Tyler looked on in anxiety. Tyler raised the Desert Eagle in front of him and stared back at Marlow.

"Put it down!" she commanded.

Tyler slowly set the gun on the floor as Marlow and Borjes eased closer to them. As he set the gun down, Jay grabbed him by the shoulder and whispered, "Go!"

The two boys sprinted down the hall to the right in a panic. Marlow and Borjes split ways and chased after them. Running through the aisles of book shelves, Jay and Tyler didn't bother looking back. Borjes headed down one aisle as two other FBI agents followed him.

"We've got them on Level One. Block all the exits," Borjes said into his radio.

He and Marlow converged at the end of one of the aisles and stopped. Their guns still aimed forward, they surveyed the area for any sign of their prey. Marlow pointed her hand down one aisle, motioning for Borjes to go in that direction. Borjes quickly shifted gears and headed down the other aisle while Marlow continued forward and turned into another aisle. The two agents peeked down a hallway as Jay and Tyler sped by. They chased after them, but the boys were far too quick.

Jay and Tyler started up the stairs, but heard footsteps charging down after them. Grabbing hold of one another, they turned back around and headed down the stairs instead. As they made it to the next floor, Marlow and Borjes appeared at the top of the stairs with several other agents.

"I think they went down," Borjes said.

"Two of you with us. The rest cover every stairwell up," Marlow ordered as she followed Borjes down the stairs.

On the floor below, Jay and Tyler burst into another room crowded with shelves of books. "Told you I had an out," Jay said as he led Tyler across the room.

Not too far behind, Borjes opened the door and slowly scanned the room. Keeping his pistol trained forward, he looked across the room. There were no exits around. "There's nowhere to go," Borjes told Marlow.

"Burchell and Fog, this is Special Agent Marlow of the FBI. I wanna talk!"

Still running as they crouched, Jay and Tyler found their way down an aisle of books. They stopped to peek out the end. Fortunately, there was no one out there. Jay pointed Tyler down another aisle while Marlow and Borjes stealthily searched for the two boys. Jay and Tyler quickly darted out of the aisle they were hiding in and ended up in a storage room in the back. Shelves of books lined the walls of the room while boxes and tables were set up all around the floor. Jay grabbed one of the book shelves and forcefully moved it aside, revealing a passageway into some underground tunnel.

"What the hell is this?" Tyler wanted to know.

"Just follow me," Jay said as he pushed open the metal sheet covering the passage.

Sliding the book shelf behind him as he entered the passage, Tyler followed Jay up the tunnel. Outside, Borjes heard the sound of the metal grinding against the floor. He pointed in the direction of the storage room and led Marlow down the hall. Ready to pounce, they entered the room, but found no one there.

"Clear!" Borjes shouted.

"They gotta be here somewhere," Marlow said. "Let's tear this place apart."

Manhattan, NY

Carrying a black garbage bag, Kim pushed open the back door of her apartment building. She stopped, though, as soon as she saw a strange man digging through the trash she had set outside earlier. The man noticed her and stopped. Instantly, he grabbed the camera slung around his neck and raised it to his eye. Snapping several pictures of Kim, he refused to listen to her words.

"Stop it!" Kim demanded. "Why don't you people just leave me alone?!"

She lunged at the reporter and attempted to wrestle the camera out of his hands. Smacking the camera against the side of the reporter's head, Kim forced him to fall on his back.

"Back off, I'm with the post!" the man shouted, rubbing his reddened forehead. Tears almost streaming down her face, Kim threw the camera at the reporter and turned away. "You're a lunatic, lady! I'm callin' the cops and pressin' charges!"

Yale Campus Library

Underneath the floors of the university library, Jay led Tyler down a damp tunnel lined with iron pipes on either side. There were small light bulbs strung around the corridor hanging from the ceiling. Their feet made heavy sounds as the soles of their shoes clanged against the metal floor.

"What is this place?" Tyler wondered as he leaped down from the raised floor.

"The steam tunnels. I used to go down here to break into the library during off hours," Jay said as he looked up. Above them was a metal grating. Light was coming down from it along with the sounds of police sirens and a helicopter flying by.

"Are you kidding me? Your obsessive study habits just saved our asses, pal!"

Opening the grating, Jay climbed out from the tunnel and helped Tyler up. Tyler closed the grating shut as Jay pulled out the train schedule. Pointing at the next scheduled train to Deer Harbor, he said, "According to the schedule, the next train for Deer Harbor leaves in less than ten minutes. C'mon."

"Wait. Wait. Wait. Wait," Tyler repeated as he motioned for Jay's hat. He took off his one and stuck it inside his backpack as Jay handed him his. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm bummed we're leaving."

"We'll be back," Jay replied sarcastically.

Manhattan, NY

Waiting in the middle of an alley was the blonde-haired man who bumped into Kim before. He was looking through the pictures in the envelope he had stolen from her purse. A few seconds after, a limousine's headlights caught his eyes. Getting up, he walked over to the back seat of the limo and bent into the open window. Handing the envelope to the person inside, he said, "The negatives are inside."

Inside the limo was the mysterious blonde-haired man. He had traded in his pinstripe suit for a solid black tux with a bowtie. Looking at the pictures of Will, he nodded and asked, "Does Ms. Doherty have any more pictures of Traveler." The man shook his head in reply. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, sir."

"Hmm, seems Traveler has left us quite a mess," the blonde-haired man sighed. Glaring back at the other man with his steely blue eyes, he lifted up the black tinted window and said, "You know what to do."

Meanwhile, a man was playing pool by himself in a small penthouse. Drinking a glass of scotch beside him was a bald man in a suit and tie. He watched the man with spiky, black hair play billiards. The black-haired man hit one of the striped balls into the corner left pocket as another man entered the room. Smiling, the black-haired man straightened his back and greeted the newcomer.

"Well, well, well. So you came?" he said. Turning to the bald man, he nodded his head in the direction of the door and said, "Excuse us."

The bald man stood from his seat and exited the room. As he left, the newcomer stepped up to the pool table. Moving aside the black eight-ball, the newcomer set a rolled up piece of canvass on the pool table. Unrolling it, he revealed a magnificent painting – John Trumbull's _Declaration of Independence_.

"This was destroyed in the Drexler Bombing," the black-haired man reminded himself as he touched the painting. "I can't move this."

"I'm not lookin' to sell it," the newcomer revealed.

"Then what do you want?"

"I wanna know what I have," the newcomer stated. The black-haired man lifted his eyes up from the supposedly destroyed painting and met the intense, mysterious eyes of Will Traveler.


	4. Chapter 4: The Out

**Chapter 4: The Out**

The moon shone brightly up in the vast, dark purple night sky with its light illuminating the trees and field below it. The sound of a train whooshing by interrupted the silent night. Its wheels chugged in circles across the iron rails as it sped towards Deer Harbor, Maine. Since it was fairly late, there weren't many people on the train; there were possibly less than twenty people per car. A sleeping woman cradled her daughter in her arms as the little girl read a book to herself. In the seat before them, a man coming home from the war slept soundly, but looked slightly uncomfortable in his army green uniform. A couple seats up, a man in a black suit and red tie read the daily newspaper while his blonde wife slept quietly against his shoulder.

Across from the man and wife, Jay rustled awake. He rubbed his eyes and shook his head as he yawned. The first thing his eyes noticed as they adjusted to the dim light was the mug shot of himself in the newspaper the man in front of him held up. Surprised, he immediately turned his head and looked back up the aisle of seats. Still awake, Tyler leaned against his right hand and looked back at Jay. Jay nodded at Tyler, who nodded back. The two boys climbed to their feet and grabbed their backpacks from the rack above their seats.

Tyler headed up the aisle to meet up with Jay, who was stopped by a woman sitting a few seats away from him. The woman reached for his hand and asked, "Excuse me, aren't you Maggie Hamilton's kid?"

"No, ma'am," Jay politely answered.

"It's uncanny. You could be twins," she replied, smiling.

Jay faked a chuckle and excused himself as Tyler followed him up the aisle. They passed by the man in the army uniform as the man awoke. The army man stared up at the two boys as they attempted to leave the car. Jay lowered the bill of his cap as he passed by, hoping the man wouldn't recognize him. Unfortunately, it was of no use. The army man jumped to his feet and shouted at them.

"Hey, stop! It's the guys from the Drexler!"

Their eyes growing wild, Jay and Tyler exchanged glances. Jay turned back around to see the army man grab at him. The man grabbed Jay by the shoulders, but he attempted to escape. He reached a hand out to Tyler, but an old man in the seat beside him stood up and blocked his way.

"Pull the cord!" Jay shouted at his friend, pointing at the cord labeled 'Emergency Brake'.

Tyler turned around and leaped at the cord. However, a man in a suit grabbed him by the waist and pulled him away. Tyler wrestled against the man, kicking and pushing just to get to the emergency brake. Another man stood up against him and tried to push him into a corner.

Jay, on the other hand, was fairing a little better. He managed to knock off the old man and was wrestling with the army man. The army man grabbed him by the neck in an attempt to choke him, but Jay blocked with his forearms and pushed him forward.

"Federal Marshall! Freeze!" a muscular man in a black suit ordered as he pulled out his handgun.

Ignoring him, Jay went for the emergency brake. Diving towards it, he tackled a man down and pulled the cord down. Immediately, the train began to skid against the rail, rocking the passengers' bodies left and right. Jay's body slammed into the corner as Tyler fell onto one of the seats. As the Federal Marshall fell to the ground, he accidentally pulled the trigger of his gun. A bullet shot out and headed straight for Jay. It slammed into his chest hard, causing him to fall over on his back. Everyone in the car suddenly stopped and stared at Jay's unmoving body.

"Jay! Jay!" Jay heard a familiar voice calling out to him. Grasping for air, he attempted to open his eyes. His lungs beginning to collapse, Jay's head fell back as Kim appeared out of nowhere. She grabbed him and lifted his head up to face her.

"Jay!" Tyler said as he slapped Jay across the chest. It was all a dream. Jay's eyes opened and he gasped for breath. Scanning the car, he realized he had been asleep dreaming. Shaking his head, he looked up at Tyler, who was attempting to look inconspicuous. He wore a gray nylon jacket with blue jeans and a black hat.

Jay blinked a couple times as he grabbed at his chest. He could have sworn he could still feel the bullet engraved in his chest. Fortunately, it was all just a dream. Jay looked back at the man in front of him. He held a newspaper, but it didn't show his mug shot like the one from his dream.

"It's time to go," Tyler told him.

"Next stop: Deer Harbor, Maine," the voice in the intercom announced.

Following Tyler down the aisle, he grabbed his brown leather jacket and put it on over the gray hoodie he was already wearing. Together, the two friends got off the train and walked across the platform as the train raced away.

"Get any sleep?" Tyler asked.

"Not enough."

"I've slept like five hours in the last two days," Tyler bitterly said. "If we don't start getting some sleep, we're not gonna be on the run for long."

Jay nodded in agreement as he reached for the train schedule in his pocket. Across from them was a ticket booth and waiting lobby marked 'Deer Harbor Train Station'. Jay started towards it and said, "I'm gonna check this out."

Inside the station, Jay walked up to an old man at the ticket booth. He showed the man the train schedule and the code written on it and asked if he knew what it was for. "It's a reservation code, son, from two weeks ago," the old man revealed.

"Any idea as to what it's for?" Jay asked.

"I can't tell you that," the old man retorted.

Smugly, Tyler pulled out a twenty-dollar bill and asked, "You sure?"

Less than five minutes later, Jay and Tyler were walking out of the train station with their answer. The old man had written on a piece of paper the name 'Daniel Taft'. Jay stared at the name for a second, constantly repeating it to himself.

"It's gotta mean somethin'," Tyler told him.

"Yeah, it means someone named Daniel Taft – not Will Traveler – took the train here two weeks ago."

"Yeah, or Will was using the name, Daniel Taft," Tyler suggested.

Breathing in and out, Jay looked around at the shimmering water beside the train station. It was still dusk so the sun had barely begun to rise and the sky was a mixture of colors ranging from violet to pink. Jay could barely make out the form of a town beyond a stretch of road before them. "C'mon, if Will was here, then maybe someone knew him."

About twenty minutes later, the two friends were walking down a small street in the little town of Deer Harbor. Deer Harbor was a small communal town with a down-home type of atmosphere that made anyone in the town feel comfortable and familiar. Prominent on the eastern side of town was a large harbor with hundreds of boats, yachts, and ferries docked there. Jay and Tyler strolled down a sunny, scarcely populated street. Feeling uncomfortable, Tyler looked back behind him to see if anyone suspicious was following.

"Can you feel it?" he asked.

"Feel what?" Jay replied.

"That someone's watching us!"

"No, you're paranoid."

"Maybe I'm right, Jay! Maybe we should leave!" Tyler hysterically retorted. "Will Traveler. Daniel Taft. We don't even know who we're looking for at this point!"

Tyler stopped walking and raised his arms in front of Jay. There was an agitated expression on his face as he began to turn red with anger. Jay, however, appeared quite calm and reserved as he stared up at something across the street.

"No, I think leaving would be a bad idea," Jay said, still looking across the street.

Tyler made a confused face at him and turned around. Scanning around for what Jay had been mesmerized by, he noticed a sign hanging above a small bookstore on the corner across the street. "Have Books, Will Travel," he read."

Just then, a white Volkswagen Beetle parked on the side of the bookstore next to a large black SUV. The sound of the alarm emanated from the car as a young woman stepped out and walked towards the store's entrance. The girl looked to be around the same age as Jay and Tyler and had long, curly, blonde hair and blue eyes. She had a thin, lean frame clothed in a white blouse, brown undershirt, dark green jacket, and blue denims. In her hand was a ring of keys, which she turned over with her fingers. Sticking one of the keys into the bookstore's doorknob, she turned the knob and pulled the door open.

"Alright, you stay here," Jay told Tyler as he started for the store.

Tyler put his hand out to stop him, though, and said, "I'm coming."

"No, we can't always walk around together. It's risky," Jay replied. Contemplating the plan for a second, Tyler turned away and sighed. He nodded back at Jay, signaling for him to make his move. As Tyler leaned back against the wall of the building beside them, Jay headed across the street to the bookstore.

Jay pulled open the door and began looking around the shop. There were books of all sorts organized into bookshelves lining the store. To the right of the entrance was an entire wall of children's books, while across the room were rows of shelves containing novels for young adults. No one seemed to be around the store, even though the blonde girl had just went inside. Jay thought maybe she had went into another part of the store for some apparent reason. Jay continued to look around and found a book on the small table in front of the register. He picked it up and looked at the title. _On the Road_ it read. Shaking his head, he sighed, knowing it had been Will's favorite book.

"Can I help you find something?" a feminine voice asked from behind.

Jay dropped the novel back onto the table and spun around. Standing next to the front counter was the young blonde woman he saw enter the store. "No thanks. I'm just browsing."

"My name's Maya. Just let me know if you have any questions," the girl told Jay before turning to leave.

New York FBI Field Office

Borjes excitedly burst through the transparent door of a room as he shouted to Marlow, "You won't believe this!"

"Forensics find something else?" Marlow guessed.

"No but techs did. Turns out that stuff we found in New Haven – Burchell's manifesto, Fogs video – is already on the internet. It's up on twenty different websites ready for download," Borjes notified his partner. Turning to one of the agents seated in front of a computer, he nodded to him. The agent pressed a few keys on his computer and a video started playing on the gigantic monitor in front of them.

"It's 2006 and the America our parents knew is long gone," Tyler said in a mocking inflection. The video choppily jumped to a scene of Tyler with a razor in his hand and shaving cream across his face. "Democracy? What democracy? We don't even have elections anymore; we have options. President Shears has sold this country to the highest bidder!"

"Looks like the perfect way for Burchell and Fog to promote their hatred of President Shears and his administration," Borjes commented.

"Our generation needs to stand up for what is right! Take a stand! It's time to have a revolution! We need to wake up and take this country back! It's time for blood in the streets – blood in the streets," Tyler finished as he popped the cap off a beer bottle. The FBI agent stopped the video, causing the image of Tyler to separate into tiny, shaky pixels. He spun around in his chair to look back at Marlow and Borjes who glared at the monitor.

With a bewildered look on her face, Marlow said, "It doesn't make any sense."

"I know that look," Borjes replied, rubbing his chin.

"Why take the risk?"

"What? Going back to New Haven?"

"No, going back to destroy the evidence when it's already on the internet," Marlow said.

"Destroying the originals, covering the girl who had them, toying with us," Borjes listed off.

"Put yourself in the suspects' shoes. You're on the run, do you go back for evidence that's already out in the open?" Marlow hypothesized.

"I don't know, but that is their stuff," Borjes countered. "Hair fibers matched on the clothes that we salvaged, finger print samples were positive, and last night, we gave them the chance to come in and they still ran!"

Borjes shot Marlow a look like he had just won a big argument. Marlow, on the other hand, still refused to listen and wondered what the point of returning to New Haven was. She shook her head and sighed lightly as she stared back up at the video that was playing again on the monitor. The image of Tyler opening the bottle of beer looked almost iconic.

"It's time for blood on the streets – blood on the streets!"

Manhattan, NY

An African-American woman stood inside of a holding cell in Manhattan. Her hands grasped the grimy steel bars of the cell as the dim lights hanging above her barely illuminated her face. She took a few steps back as a police officer walked up to the cell with a ring of keys.

"You're in luck, Doherty. The photographer dropped the charges," the female officer said as she opened the cell door.

Sitting down in the corner was Kim Doherty. She had been there all night and looked rather tired. Her eyes were droopy and her makeup was beginning to crack. She hadn't slept at all. Standing up, she noticed Agent Chambers standing in the corner outside the cell.

Deer Harbor, Maine

Jay stood in the bookshop, still holding onto the copy of _On the Road_. He looked around for a moment then called out Maya's name. The beautiful blonde walked across the hardwood floor to answer Jay's call. Before she could even reach the room he was in, he asked, "Is this your store?"

"Yes it is."

"I like the name," Jay said.

"Thanks," Maya replied with a smile. She leaned over the counter and looked at the book Jay had set on the counter. "_On the Road_ – good book. Nine forty-three, please."

Jay dug out his wallet from his back pocket and searched for a few dollar bills. He pulled out two fives and handed them to Maya as he said, "I had a friend who lived here. He used to talk about this place all the time."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, his name's Will Traveler."

Smiling, Maya opened the cash register and said, "Never heard of him." Jay could easily tell she was lying as she stuffed the two five-dollar bills into the register and grabbed Jay's change. The tone in her voice suddenly dropped and a worried expression took over his face. "I could see why he likes my store though."

"Are you sure you don't know him? He said he came here a lot," Jay replied.

"Yeah, I think I'd remember a name like that. Enjoy your book," Maya told him as she hurriedly turned to leave.

"How 'bout Daniel Taft?!" Jay shouted after her. "Ever heard of him?"

"Sorry, I can't help you."

"Can't or won't? It's important. We need to figure – "

"Look I would love to help you, but I don't know your friend! It's a small town. Maybe you should try city hall."

"That's okay. Thanks for your time," Jay replied, knowing Maya was definitely not going to cooperate.

"No problem," Maya said coldly as she left Jay's presence.

In a mysteriously shady room in a seemingly empty building, two men sat next to one another at a long, wooden table. On top of the table was a strange black device attached to a cord and headphones. One of the men wore one pair of headphones while the other held another pair up to his ears. Jay and Maya's voices came through them as the two men listened. The man holding the headphones up set it back on the table and got up. With a pair of black binoculars, he walked across the room to a small window. He stared through the binoculars to see the entrance of Have Books, Will Travel and watched as Jay exited the small shop.

Down the street from Maya's bookshop was a cafe. It was fairly empty; the only people inside were the cashier, two baristas, a woman in a business suit, and a couple sitting by themselves in a corner. Jay and Tyler entered the store and ordered two cups of coffee. Hopefully, the coffee would help keep them up a little longer. Once they got their drinks, they sat down at a table beside the entrance.

"So she knew the name Daniel Taft?" Tyler asked.

"Yeah, I think so."

"Then she was lying to you, Jay. We gotta go back!"

"And do what? Say please?"

"We follow her," Tyler pushed.

"Just give me a minute. I need time to think," Jay replied, taking a sip of his coffee.

Offended, Tyler leaned back in his chair and let out a dry chuckle as he rubbed his nose. "Since when did this become a one-man show?"

"Look, if you wanna make suggestions, make good ones," Jay retorted. "She mentioned city hall – that's where police are based in small towns like this. What if she recognized me?"

"Then we'd be sitting in the back of a cop car, Jay. Not at this table," Tyler snapped back. Gazing out the window, he angrily sighed and hopped up to his feet. He leaned over the table, his hands planted on top of it, and said, "You're not always right, Jay."

Still sitting, Jay watched as Tyler left the café to go out to the payphone booth outside. Shaking his head as he saw Tyler close the booth door behind him, Jay turned away to finish his coffee. However, he was drawn away by the mention of Tyler's name on the TV hanging from behind the cash register. Jay looked up to see a video of Tyler playing on the news.

New Haven, CT – 9 Months Ago

It was a Friday night so the boys had the entire weekend to look forward to. The three boys lazily sat around the living room of their house, watching the TV with beers glued to their hands. The table in the center of the room was already topped with over a dozen beer bottles. Jay laid on his side on the couch as Will leaned forward on the recliner next to him. In front of them, the news was playing the video of a news conference President Shears held earlier in the day.

"The guys a liar," Tyler said as he entered the living room. "He's never fully answered a question his whole life. Wouldn't know the truth if it walked up and bit him in the ass."

Tyler dropped down on the floor and planted himself in front of the TV. To his left, Will set up a laptop on the coffee table as he grabbed his video camera. "Well, I am shocked to learn that politicians lie," he sarcastically said. Pointing the camera at Tyler's face, he asked, "Any thoughts on where this country's headed, Mr. Fog?"

Tyler began to chuckle, but Jay didn't find it amusing. He always liked watching the news, whether it was good or bad. He waved his hand in front of Will's camera lens and urged, "Turn that off Will. I'm trying to watch this."

"America needs to hear from you! The future of this country is guys like us, not blowhards like Shears."

"Y'know, he's right, Jay. Besides, this guy's got more air than a Lindberg," Tyler interceded.

Jay shook his head and faced the TV to listen to Shears continuing speech. "And just because I'm leaving Washington doesn't mean Washington is leaving me," he uttered embarrassingly.

Jay, Tyler, and Will all burst into laughter at the banality of the statement. They shook their heads in embarrassment together as Shears went on. Suddenly, Tyler stood up and shouted, "Hey! Listen up!"

Will grabbed his camera and directed it at Tyler, who cleared his throat. Pressing the record button, Will began taping Tyler's seemingly harmless rant. "President Shears has sold this country to the highest bidder. I think it's time for blood in the streets – blood in the streets."

Pulled back into the present, Jay looked outside at Tyler and ran out to grab him. Dragging him into the restroom of the café, he looked around to make sure no one was around or in the stalls. Tyler watched Jay with confused eyes, wondering why he had been taken into the bathroom.

"Okay. What?" he asked.

"Will's video is on the news. The one that he's been shooting the past two years every place we go!" Jay alarmed his friend.

"His video blog?"

"Yeah, 'blood on the streets'. Do you remember that?"

"That was a joke," Tyler replied.

"Not anymore," Jay told him. "The video was part of the frame job. They're making it look like we're revolutionaries – like Che Guevara or somebody."

"Son of a bitch!" Tyler cursed, ready to punch a wall.

"Did you ever watch his blog other than on his computer?" Jay asked.

Tyler shook his head 'no', realizing Will's blog had been a lie. "Okay. So what do you wanna do?"

"Honestly, I wanna go to New York, find Kim, and disappear. But since that's not an option I guess we keep lookin' for Daniel Taft."

"Good 'cause I found a listing for Daniel Taft," Tyler said, "but it's not a house."

New York FBI Field Office

"Do we have the originating IP address for Fog's video?" Marlow asked Borjes as the two entered the bullpen. There were already dozens of agents running around with files of papers, checking documents, cross-referencing various pieces of information, among other things.

"We're tracing it back to the first computer it was uploaded from, but it won't be easy or quick," Borjes answered. "What about you? What's going on?"

"QD came back with the results of Burchell's manifesto. The handwriting analysis was inconclusive. Apparently the P's don't match up."

"The P's? That's just great," Borjes sighed.

"We need a handwriting exemplar to make a match so I'm going to the source – Mom," Marlow replied as she opened the door to the interrogation room they stood in front of. Borjes nodded his head and eyed Marlow as she stepped into the room and greeted Jay's mother, Felicia Cruz.

Felicia Cruz sat with her bag on one side of the metal table while Marlow took the seat across from her. She was a short, lean woman with long, dark red hair and brown eyes. It didn't look like she'd slept in quite some time by the look of her eyes. They appeared tired and restless. As Marlow sat down in front of her, Felicia reached into her bag for a red card. "Christmas card, 2002," Felicia said, handing the card to Marlow. "Jay's last communication with me. Happy holidays, Jay."

Marlow looked the card over and said, "Thank you. This'll help."

"To convict my son or exonerate him?" Felicia asked stoically.

"To understand him." Felicia scoffed at the idea of the Feds trying to understand her son. She knew all they were looking for was someone to pin the crime on. Marlow noted her uneasiness and asked, "So why don't you two talk? Something happen between you and Jay's father?"

"Jay thinks I betrayed him, that I left his father in his time of need, but I didn't. I was protecting my son," Felicia replied.

"Protecting him from what?"

"Jay's father was a soldier – ambitious, loyal, but when he was court marshaled, things changed. It wasn't safe for us to stay," Felicia explained.

"So how old was Jay when his father died?"

"Fifteen."

"His death must've been tough for both of you."

"You think that's why Jay would do this, don't you?" Felicia accused. "To avenge his father. That's what the press are saying."

"What do you say?"

Felicia shook her head and answered, "There were times when I questioned the goodness in my husband, never Jay."

Deer Harbor, ME

Jay and Tyler walked through the marina of Deer Harbor. It was a regular-sized marina with several types of boats docked above the water and a few more sitting on stilts on the docks themselves. Screwed onto the edges of the docks were gold plates with the names of the boats' owners inscribed on them alongside the boat number. Jay and Tyler moved from boat to boat, searching for Daniel Taft and #32.

"Number 32," Jay read off as he looked down at the gold plate at his feet.

"You sure this is it?" Tyler asked. He looked around and there was no boat lined up with the gold plate.

"This is the place," Jay affirmed, crouching down to read the gold plate.

"Then where's Taft's boat?"

Jay stood up and began searching the area with his eyes. The only other boats around were already lined up beside their respective owners' plates. Turning around, Jay and Tyler's eyes were caught by the sight of a large boat parked on the side of the dock. Painted on the bow of the boat was the name 'Maya'.

"The owner of the store was named Maya," Jay remembered. Patting Tyler on the back, he said, "C'mon."

The two boys headed over to the Maya and climbed up the wooden ladder leaning against its side. As they climbed up every rung of the ladder, they made sure to check if anyone was coming or near. Luckily, they saw no one around the marina save for themselves. However, as they were watching for any witnesses, someone else was watching them. Unbeknownst to the boys, sitting in a red Jeep on the other side of the marina was the Porter from the hotel. In his hands was a pair of binoculars, which he observed the boys through.

Manhattan, NY

A drove of motor vehicles sped down the same street in front of a pack of wild reporters snapping pictures. In one of them sat Agent Chambers with Kim Doherty in the back seat.

"Press has been having a field day since you took out that photographer," Chambers told her as the SUV they were in pulled up to the curb. The reporters ran quickly over to them in an attempt to take pictures or get any interviews. Luckily for Kim, the other agents with Chambers blocked the reporters' way.

Chambers stepped out of the car and opened the back door to pull Kim out. Even with the FBI agents blocking them, the cascade of reporters still shouted out to Kim. She ducked her head and tried to cover her face as Chambers put his arm around her shoulders and escorted her to her apartment.

Kim turned on the lights to her apartment and grabbed the door to close it. Chambers, however, slammed his hand against the door, keeping it from moving. As he entered Kim's room with keen eyes, she sighed as if she somehow expected it. Chambers crossed the foyer to check the living room as Kim noted, "This is the second time you've given me a ride home this week."

"You've been getting in a lot of trouble lately," Chambers replied. "Just wanted to make sure you got home safe."

Kim crossed her arms as she watched Chambers go through the stuff in her bookcase. "Your men went through my stuff already."

Chambers stopped what he was doing and turned to Kim. "Sorry. Old habits," he said. "You have family in the area, don't you?"

"Queens. My mom and dad," Kim answered.

"Maybe you should visit them," Chambers recommended. "Take a break from all this."

"I'll be fine."

"Ever heard of Occam's Razor? Given two choices – "

"The simplest theory is usually correct," Kim finished. "You learn that in FBI school?"

"The way I see it, there are two possibilities: either a massive conspiracy has created the persona of Will Traveler and manipulated events for the past two years to frame your boyfriend and his friend, or Jay Burchell and Tyler Fog, two men with a bone to pick with President Shears, joined forces with a third individual to commit an act of terrorism."

"I told you, Jay's not involved," Kim pushed.

"Then why is he still running?"

"He's scared!"

"Of this vast conspiracy," Chambers sardonically added.

Kim looked up at Chambers with the eyes of a little child being scolded by her father. Her lips quivering, she replied, "Yes."

"Or maybe he's still on the run because he's now linked to a murder and the disappearance of a deputy in upstate New York."

Having enough of Chambers, Kim stood up and walked away. Her feet stopped moving, though, as Chambers suddenly said, "I have a daughter, Kim. A senior in college. I pretty much let her run her own life and she does a pretty good job of it, but when she's about to get hurt, I step in. Something's telling me you're gonna get hurt in this."

"Thanks for the concern."

"Take a break from this before you get into anymore trouble. I may not be there next time to bail you out." Chambers nodded at Kim before walking passed her and heading out the door. He shut the door behind him, leaving Kim by herself to contemplate his suggestion.

Deer Harbor, ME

From his jeep, the Porter surveyed the boat Jay and Tyler had just climbed into. They had disappeared a few moments ago and were still inside checking everything out. In the cabin of the boat, Jay and Tyler found a stash of military-type boxes in an army green color. Jay lifted one up and set it on the table before opening it. Inside were stacks of guns ranging from pistols to submachine guns and boxes of ammunition.

"Ty," Jay said, prompting Tyler to turn and look at Jay. He held up one of the black pistols from inside the box.

Tyler bent down and flipped the top open on another box like the one Jay had found. Instead of weapons this box contained military rations in light brown air-sealed packs. "Look at this," Tyler said.

"Somebody planned on being away a long time," Jay replied.

"And if Will was Daniel Taft…"

"This boat was his out," Jay realized.

"What kind of person would keep stuff like this around?" Tyler wondered as he looked through the cache of guns.

"A soldier?" Jay guessed.

"Y'know, if Will was planning a trip, maybe he made a record. Maybe he charted a course or something." Tyler moved aside a few items from the counter sticking out from the cabin wall. Laid out on it were rolled up maps. Tyler grabbed the nearest one and unrolled it to search for a route or something Daniel Taft might've written on them. Before he could find anything, though, Jay grabbed him and motioned for him to be quiet.

The two boys listened in and heard the sound of footsteps above them. "Someone's coming!" Jay whispered as he and Tyler frantically searched for somewhere to hide. Unfortunately, the cabin was already too small for them to even be standing in it. The door of the cabin lifted open and a tall man in a plaid shirt climbed in.

"Who the hell are you two?" he asked the boys with an alarmed expression.

"Look, we're really sorry. We didn't mean to intrude. We're lookin' for a friend," Jay replied.

"Yeah, are-are you Daniel Taft?" Tyler stuttered.

"Yup, this is my boat," the mysterious man answered. Jay shot him a look as if he didn't believe him. He was so sure Daniel Taft was Will Traveler that it actually shocked him to learn otherwise. He turned to Tyler who had the same exact expression on his face.

New York FBI Field Office

"So, this means what exactly?" Marlow asked as she gawked at a computer monitor in one of the labs at the Field Office. Standing beside her were Agent Borjes and a lab technician explaining the chart on the monitor.

"The chemical residue on the box found in New Haven matches the compounds found in the Drexler Bombing," the lab tech said.

"So these guys definitely did it?" Borjes interjected.

"It's not my job to speculate," the lab tech replied.

"But it is mine so spit it out," Marlow told him.

Sighing, the lab tech asked, "Your suspects are students, right?"

"Yale grads. One with military training."

"This is an exotic mixture even for the military," the lab tech said.

"Camp Pendleton and Fort Hood both have small quantities," Borjes shrugged.

"But we checked those out and they're not missing any. So this is homemade."

"One of our suspects was studying chemistry."

"Right, but you don't learn this kind of thing in Chem. 101," the lab tech replied, shaking his head. "I don't care where you went to school."

"But it's not impossible," Borjes said as he walked over to the monitor.

"No, if you can put your hands on the right ingredients, most times nut jobs like this it's forty pounds of fertilizer, a few blasting caps, and boom – you're on the eleven o'clock news. I'm not saying your guys aren't the doers, but this isn't the work of amateurs."

Borjes and Marlow sighed at almost the same time. Exchanging questioning looks with one another, they contemplated their next move. Seconds later, Marlow saw Chambers passing by and exited the room to inform him of what they just discovered.

"Lab says the chemicals at the Drexler are a close match with the New Haven boxes," Marlow imparted.

"Evidence aside, what do you think?" Chambers asked as he entered his office. He took off his jacket, loosened his tie, and bore into Marlow's eyes with his own piercing pair.

"Fog and Burchell are developing a profile like I've never seen before. There are variables to the evidence. I'm not sure what to think," Marlow honestly answered.

"What about the manifesto?"

"Much more typical of this kind of perp – political, aggrieved," Marlow replied.

"Would you take it to court?"

"Not without better confirmation on the handwriting. I need to explore the evidence more fully."

Chambers sifted through a thick folder full of documents and files. Without looking up from them, he said, "Nonetheless Burchell and Fog remain our best and only suspects."

"Yes, sir," Marlow replied. She then added, "I spoke with Burchell's mother."

"So has half the Bureau. She's a dead-end."

"Jay's father stood his ground till the end. He lost his family, his name – he died proclaiming his innocence," Marlow said.

"You believe Burchell would do the same thing."

"He will not stop running."

"Until we catch him," Chambers doggedly added.

Deer Harbor, ME

Daniel Taft sat on one of his boxes across from Jay and Tyler, who sat on the floor. They appeared quite comfortable with one another. One would expect everyone in the room to be uneasy or frightened, but everything was quiet and calm.

"I've never heard of him. You sure he lived around here?" Daniel Taft asked. Jay and Tyler had just finished telling him about Will.

"Well, this is where he's from," Jay answered.

"When was the last time you saw him?"

"Two days ago," Tyler replied.

"Look, we're really sorry about breaking into your boat," Jay said. "We really need to find him and we thought this was his boat."

Daniel Taft nodded and raised his hand up to signal to Jay he accepted their apology. "Well, people know each other in a small town like this. Maybe your friend Traveler's from another spot," Taft suggested.

Tyler somewhat agreed and nodded. He remembered the cache of guns he and Jay found before and asked, "Hey, are you planning on some kind of invasion?"

Taft burst out laughing and said, "Old habits die hard, even harder for old Marines."

"Oh really?" Jay asked, slightly amused to meet a former Marine like his father. "Where'd you serve? My dad was in the Marines."

"You name it, I probably helped it."

Jay smiled and noticed the tiny tattoo marked on Taft's hand. It was a familiar tattoo he remembered seeing on his own father's hand. "First Recon – that's the same as my dad."

Taft tilted his head a little and smiled. "You don't say."

New Haven, CT – 9 Months Ago

Tyler exited the living room as Jay leaned back to listen to Will speak some more. Cupping his hands together in front of him, Will started, "Ask yourself this: do you think the government lied to you about your father."

As he reentered the room, Tyler shook his head in disagreement. He didn't think Will should be bringing something like this up now. It was a bit rude and insensitive to ask Jay a question like that. Jay shook his head and said, "That's different."

"Different how?" Will questioned. "He takes the fall for some friendly fire incident so some general somewhere doesn't have to lose his star? He died for a lie."

Jay breathed in and looked away. The sorrowful expression on his face suggested he wasn't in the mood to talk about this at the moment. Luckily, Tyler defended him. "What are you doin', Will?! You're bein' a jerk."

Rubbing his tired eyes, Will continued, "Anyway, one way or another, one time or another, we all lie – all of us."

Back in the present, Jay wondered whether Taft was lying right now. He stepped over to Taft and asked, "Have you ever been to New Haven, maybe in the last couple weeks?"

Chuckling, Taft replied, "You guys don't give up" Jay and Tyler both shrugged back. "No, I stay pretty busy right here."

"Fishing?" Tyler guessed.

"That's how you make a living in this town," Taft answered. Sticking his hand down his pocket, he said, "Hey, listen, I have to make a call. There's beer in the fridge if you promise to stay out of my stuff."

"Thanks a lot, man," Jay said as Taft exited the cabin. "Sorry again."

Once Taft left the cabin and shut the hatch, Jay and Tyler glanced at one another. "This is not a fishing boat!" Tyler exclaimed.

"Yeah no kidding," Jay replied. "Let's skip the beer and get outta here."

"First time that's ever sounded like a good idea," Tyler muttered as he picked up his backpack.

Jay walked over to the hatch and pushed it open. However, the hatch only opened for maybe an inch before stopping. There seemed to be something in the way. Jay slammed his hand against it several times, but it still wouldn't open. "It's locked, man!"

"No. No. No. Hey!" Tyler screamed as he looked out the window for Taft.

Above, Daniel Taft, or whoever he really was, walked over to the bow of the ship. In his hand was a small, silver, metallic device that he planted on the front of the ship near the captain's booth. He pressed one of the buttons on the top of the circular device, starting a countdown from sixty seconds. From inside the cabin, Tyler could see Taft get into his car. He continually cursed under his breath as he watched the man drive away in his blue truck.

"Get back!" Jay warned Tyler as he grabbed a handgun from the box. Pointing it at the hatch, he pulled the trigger three times. Startled, Tyler fell back onto some boxes. Jay helped him back up, though, and together they climbed out of the cabin.

Tyler came up from the cabin and headed over to the ladder. On his way there he noticed the bomb planted on the bow of the boat. "Bomb! Bomb!" he shouted to Jay. Without a second thought, the two boys tossed their backpacks to the ground below and hopped over the side of the boat. They recklessly ran from the boat as it burst into flames behind them. The sides of the boat flew off like bullets and the glass windows completely shattered. Whatever was left of the boat tipped over and fell on its side, fire still blazing within it. Breathing heavily, Jay and Tyler began to climb to their feet as they watched the boat burn.

"Let's get out of here," Tyler quickly said. However, Jay grabbed him and pulled him back down. The two boys crouched behind some boxes on the dock.

"We want Taft to think he finished us off," Jay told his friend, pointing in the direction of a blue pickup truck. Taft was standing outside of it staring back at the burning wreckage. Nodding to himself, he stepped back into his truck and sped off. At the same time, the Porter lowered the binoculars from his hand and set his car to Drive. "He's gone."

"Then let's get the hell outta here," Tyler said as he stood up and raced away from the docks.

New York FBI Field Office

The lobby of the Field Office was set up for a news conference. There were a few rows of seats lined up in front of a metal podium that had several microphones connected to it. Pinned to the wall behind the podium was a blue plaque displaying the insignia of the FBI. Behind the rows of seats were cameramen prepared to videotape the upcoming news update. There was a slight commotion of voices in the lobby until Fred Chambers entered the room and everyone quieted down.

He walked over to the podium and stood poised in front of the microphones. "This is merely an update; there will be no questions taken at this time. I am Special Agent-In-Charge Fred Chambers of the New York Field Office of the FBI. Our two suspects in the Drexler Bombing, Jay Burchell and Tyler Fog, have been positively IDed in the New Haven area. Our investigation has recently uncovered facts that we believe further implicate Burchell and Fog. Chemical evidence found in New Haven matches evidence found at the site of the Drexler Bombing."

In the above floor, Marlow exited her office to watch the news conference from the TV in the bullpen. Standing in front of it already were Borjes and several other agents. Listening to Chambers, she wondered why he would give out this evidence already. "Who cleared this?" she asked.

"We also found possessions that preach a message of hate towards President Shears and the current administration," Chambers continued.

"He knows we're working that evidence," Marlow said to Borjes.

Shrugging his shoulders, Borjes replied resignedly, "It's his call, Marlow."

"He's putting conjecture out as fact!" Marlow retorted.

"C'mon! He's the boss! He needs to give the public something; people wanna see progress."

"Don't approve of this, Mo. This is not how it's done!"

"We can't just investigate evidence all day. We should get out there, find these guys!" Borjes replied.

"You're siding with Chambers on this?" Marlow asked. Borjes shrugged and looked away. He didn't want to say more in fear of hurting his partner's feelings even more. He simply sighed and stirred his coffee with a tiny red stick. Marlow shook her head in disgust and told Borjes, "Go work those leads."

In the lobby, Chambers continued his speech. "We appreciate your vigilance and we encourage you to continue to call our hotline as we take every tip seriously. Thank you very much."

As soon as Chambers reentered the above floors, Marlow came to speak to him about sending out misleading information. She seemed infuriated, but there was obviously nothing she could do. "I can disseminate information as I see fit. Chain of command, you remember?"

"My concern is that I think we're making a mistake releasing this to the public!" Marlow replied.

"Is that all?"

"This is not my opinion alone, sir!" Marlow said, causing Chambers to stop in his tracks. He turned around to face Marlow then looked over to the side to see Borjes standing in one of the rooms. Borjes looked up to see Chambers staring back at him, but he quickly turned his attention to whatever was on the table before him. Chambers pursed his lips and turned towards Marlow. With his head, he motioned for her to follow him into an empty corner of the room.

"Repeating your history with me would not be in your best interest," Chambers said.

"I was cleared for what happened in Trenton."

"You went around the chain of command, got soft on a suspect, and an agent died!" Chambers scolded.

"We can't just release evidence to the public to give an illusion of progress," Marlow stated. "It can compromise my investigation and in creates an unnecessary fear."

"Fear is a great motivator, Marlow," Chambers told her. "One of those tips leads to Burchell and Fog's capture then all your questions will be answered. Find then and then ask the questions."

Deer Harbor, ME

For being a staple in the neighborhood, Have Books, Will Travel wasn't a rather popular store. There was no one in the shop except for Maya who was in the back putting things in order and packing up her belongings. She picked up her bag, slung it around her shoulder, and headed towards the front door. Along the way, she walked over to her window to check if anybody was outside awaiting her. Seeing there was no one out there, she went to the front counter and crouched down beside a small cabinet. She pulled it open, but was startled at the sound of the bell hanging above the door clanging as the door opened.

"Glad to see us?!" Jay asked as he burst into the shop with Tyler in tow.

"What are you doing here?!" Maya shouted back.

"Daniel Taft – you know him! He just tried to kill us at his boat, or was that Will's boat?!" Tyler furiously snapped.

Maya immediately raised a finger to her lips, motioning for the boys to silence themselves. They stared at her quizzically as she went to the front door and opened it. Pointing outside, she ordered Jay and Tyler to exit the store with her. Outside the shop, Maya divulged, "They're listening. They listen to everything."

"Who's listening?" Tyler asked.

"We have to go!" Maya said, ignoring the question.

"No, you lied to us once. How do we know you're not lying to us again?" Jay questioned.

"You're name's Jay Burchell, you got a one-seven on your LSAT, your favorite team's the Chicago Cubs," Maya listed. "You wanna know about Will, come with me. You wanna die, stay here."

In the empty building across the street, bald man laid on the ground covered in blood. The headphones he was wearing were still on his head as his body slept silently on the hardwood floor. The door to the room opened behind him and in walked the so-called Daniel Taft. He hurried over to the corpse of his partner and stood over it. Suddenly, the sound of a gun cocking alarmed him.

"Don't move," the Porter said as he came out from the shadows. He held a silver pistol in his hand with an attached silencer. He shoved the door closed with his shoulder and stepped closer to Taft.

"You're treading in some deep waters, pal," Taft said threateningly. Once the Porter walked around Taft, revealing his identity to him, Taft's face contorted into a disgusted grimace. "You?"

"What about Traveler?" the Porter demanded to know.

"We're just supposed to watch the bookstore. Keep an eye on the girl, that's it."

"Is Traveler coming here?"

"You're not the only one after him. Look, I don't know about Traveler," Taft said. "I swear."

"You're lying," the Porter callously stated as he pointed the gun at Taft's head and pulled the trigger.

Washington, DC

The mysterious blonde man was in his office signing a piece of paper brought to him by his secretary. He quickly signed it with his fancy signature and told his secretary, "Hold all my calls for the next hour."

The secretary nodded her head as she left the room. The blonde-haired man waited for the woman to close his door before sitting down in front of his computer. He moved the mouse, causing the Department of Homeland Security emblem to disappear from his monitor. The screen changed into a simple blue background with the Department's emblem shrunk above a small entry box. The man typed in a password as he picked up the phone to make a call.

"Yes, sir?" a man answered on the other line.

"What's your twenty?" the blonde man asked.

"We're ten minutes from Deer Harbor," the man said.

The computer screen showed a green map taken from a satellite. The screen zoomed in on one spot of the map and focused on two black vehicles moving along an empty, winding road on their way to Deer Harbor.

Deer Harbor, ME

Jay and Tyler followed Maya up a cobblestone path that led to the front door of her house. The house was a quaint, fairly comfortable home with two floors and a basement. It was surrounded by a garden on one side and trees on another. Maya unlocked the front mahogany door and waved for Jay and Tyler to come inside. They looked at one another then behind them before entering the house.

"Tell me about the man on the boat," Maya said as soon as the door was closed.

"We told you already," Tyler replied, sounding annoyed. "He said his name was Daniel Taft and he tried to blow up the boat with us in it."

"Well whoever you saw wasn't Daniel Taft!" Maya revealed.

"How do you know?" Jay asked.

"Because Will was Daniel Taft! At least that was his name when I met him," Maya informed them. "Will wanted us to take that boat away together."

"You and Will were – "

"Yes," Maya answered without letting Tyler finish the question. She started to blush when she said, "He told me about you. He showed me videos of you guys. That's how I recognized you."

"But you lied to us anyway," Jay interceded.

"I was hoping you'd just go away for both of our sakes."

"Yeah, she's a terrorist too!" Tyler nodded. "We gotta get outta here."

"I'm not a terrorist!" Maya shouted. "And neither is Will!"

"Well then who are you people?!" Tyler wanted to know. He and Jay crossed the room and followed Maya into the kitchen.

"Look, five years ago, my brother was charged on drug trafficking. Turns out he was keeping half of his stash in my store and I got run up on charges. A few days later, this lawyer comes to me and says he can make it all disappear if I start working for his bosses. I wasn't in a position to refuse."

"What about Will? Is he some kind of spy?" Jay wondered.

"He wouldn't tell me anything when he came here. All I know is that he believed he was serving his country," Maya answered. "It was my job to help him work on his cover. He was gonna be a student and say he was from here."

"When was the last time you saw him?"

"Two weeks ago."

Deer Harbor, ME – 2 Weeks Ago

Maya walked down the stairs of her home. It was almost six o'clock and she was hearing some noise from downstairs. She headed down to check on it and found Will breaking into her house. He quietly shut the door behind him as Maya appeared.

"Will?" she said. "Are you okay? We don't have a meet scheduled."

Will walked over to a door behind the stairs with Maya following him. "I just got my directive," he told her.

"And?"

"It's time to get out."

Maya followed Will down the stairwell to the basement and asked, "What's the order?" Will refused to answer, though; he just kept walking down the stairs. "What is going on? Will! The room's secure! Answer me!"

"Job's in two weeks, boat will be ready by then. When I come back here we take off and we're out. No looking back okay?" Maya stepped closer to Will with a somber look on her face. She so dearly wanted to know what was happening, but she knew Will wasn't able to tell her. Will put his hands on her elbows and caressed her arms. "Maya, we're ready for this."

"If you say so," Maya replied.

"You have to trust me."

"And what if you don't come back?"

"Then you take the boat and you go on your own," Will answered, letting go of her.

Shaking her head, Maya looked at Jay and told him, "He never came back. He's not answering any of my calls."

"The Drexler was his last job. He died in the bombing," Jay broke it to her.

"I wouldn't be talking to you otherwise," Maya replied. "Despite what you may think, Will liked you. The way he talked about you – the rich boy and the soldier's son. I don't think he understood the friendship himself."

"Friendship?" Tyler asked. "He framed us for a terrorist attack!"

"He was following orders," Maya defended Will. Suddenly, her pocket began ringing. She reached for her cellphone and looked at the caller ID. "It's a friend who watches the store," she told Jay and Tyler. "Yeah? Okay." She hung up the phone immediately and headed out of the kitchen. "They're coming!"

"Um… who?" Tyler asked as he traced Maya's footsteps out the room.

"How do we know you're telling us the truth?" Jay questioned. He looked down at Maya who was already inside the basement.

"Because I'm done with this life. The people who used Will – they used me too," Maya answered. "They're the ones responsible for the Drexler and Will's death. And even if I can't do anything about it, maybe you can."

Jay started down the stairs, but Tyler tried to stop him. He was still unsure about the girl and didn't trust her one bit. However, Jay thought this was their only option. He headed down the stairs and followed Maya into the back of the basement. At the top of the stairs, Tyler angrily sighed at himself and climbed down the steps. In the back of the basement there was a part of a stone wall that was cracked. Maya grabbed a piece of the wall and pulled out a slab of rock. Inside was something wrapped in cloth. She pulled it out and walked it over to Jay and Tyler.

"Will asked me to hold onto this for him," she said.

Jay unwrapped the cloth to find an old skeleton key inside. He fingered the key and checked it for any insignias that might lead them somewhere. The only thing he could make out about the old key was the B carved into the head. "What's it for?" he asked Maya.

"I don't know, but it's important. Will said if we ever had to, it could help us fight back."

As the three of them climbed up the staircase, the sound of tires screeching emanated from outside. Maya looked out the window to see two black cars pull up into her driveway. Tyler came up from behind and leaned over the counter to see as well.

"Who are they?!"

"Just take the key and go!" Maya ordered.

"What about you?"

"They're not after me. Just go! I'll be fine!" Maya urged, pushing Jay out the back door.

In her driveway, the black cars emptied out with men in black clothing armed with pistols. One of them ran up to the front door and tried to turn the doorknob. It wouldn't budge so the man began kicking it. Inside the house, Maya leaned back against the back door she had just slammed shut. Jay and Tyler were already running away from her house. She put her hands up to her face to cover the tears as she listened to the door being kicked down and the sound of giants rushing into her home.

Washington, DC

"We got the girl," a raspy voice said. "Burchell and Fog got out and Traveler's nowhere to be found. You want us to pursue?"

"No, stay put. I have other elements in play. I'll get back to you," the blonde-haired man replied. He hung up the phone and set it down on his desk. The TV beside him was playing. He turned to it to see the news displaying Jay and Tyler's pictures once again.

Manhattan, NY

In her apartment, Kim stood with her father, a tough-as-nails man with a beer belly and brown hair. He stood in front of her window staring down at the hounds on the street. "Day and night?"

"My neighbors no longer speak to me," Kim replied as she packed some of her things into a box.

"Whole country's goin' to hell," her father stated.

"Dad, please!"

"I mean, what kind of a man calls that work?" he wondered, pointing a stiff finger out at the press. "Harassing innocent people!"

"Thank you, Dad."

"When I say innocent, I mean you – not your boyfriend!" Kim's father obviously held some animosity towards Jay. After all, it was his fault his daughter was in this mess in the first place.

Kim, however, disagreed and snapped at her father, "Dad! You promised!"

Her father raised his hands up in defense and said, "Alright. Have you got everything?"

"Just give me a second." Kim turned around and grabbed some more of her valuables while her father lifted some of her stuff up and headed out to the car. As Kim picked up her things, she found a photo of her and Jay. She looked at and tears began to well up in her eyes. Setting the photo down, she looked up at the ceiling and pursed her lips. The whole while, doubt and worry filled her face.

Deer Harbor, ME

At the train station they started this part of their journey, Tyler stood beside a group of kids sitting by the rails. Tyler pulled out his leather wallet and handed one of the boys ten dollars in exchange for his cellphone. The boy's friend stared at Tyler with a confused look on his face. Tyler walked over to Jay who leaned against the side of a metal column.

"You sure we should make this call?" Jay asked as Tyler handed him the cellphone.

"You've been dying to do it all day, and frankly, I want the FBI up here to look around. They're bound to find something. So make the call and make it fast before these guys recognize us and try to make some real money."

Jay nodded and began to dial Kim's number. "Who is this?" she asked.

"Kim."

"Jay?" Kim replied, suddenly stopping everything she was doing.

"It's good to hear your voice," Jay commented, smiling widely.

"Where are you?"

"I can't say. Are you okay?"

"Jay, why are you still running?" The tone in Kim's voice suggested she was tired of the situation she was in. It sounded as if she wanted Jay and Tyler to turn themselves in already.

"It's complicated."

"What happened with that man at the airstrip? People are saying you killed him."

"No, he tried to kill us! We left him alive," Jay retorted. "I can't tell you anymore."

"I wanna help you, but when you're out there, people keep dying," Kim stuttered. She sounded as if she was going to burst out into tears.

"No, it's not like what you think, what they're saying on the news! Believe me, it's different!" Jay pleaded for her to understand.

"Jay, just tell me things are gonna be okay."

"You're gonna be fine."

"You don't think this phone is tapped?!" a masculine voice shouted into the phone.

Jay was startled by the voice, but he realized it was Kim's father. A second later, he heard the phone hang up and shouted, "Kim! Kim!"

Angrily, Jay kicked the metal column and stomped over to the boys. He handed them back their phone and walked over to Tyler. "Her dad was there, he hung up."

"Her dad? I thought they didn't get along," Tyler said.

"Yeah, that's exactly why I'm worried!"

"Hey, Jay, Kim's tough; she'll be alright," Tyler tried to console him. He sounded sincere and soothing for once. Although he and Will were never that close to Kim, he knew she meant the world to Jay and so he felt he should care about her as well. He looked at Jay, trying to convince him Kim would be alright.

Jay nodded back and said, "I think I hear the train."

Tyler checked his watch, but his eyes were caught by something else. He looked across the railroad tracks to the parking lot. Parked by the fence was a red SUV, much like the one he drove. "Jay! Jay! That's-That's my car."

Jay stepped forward to get a closer look. The car looked very much like Tyler's, but it was in a different color. "That's not your car. It's a different color."

"No, that's my car!" Tyler claimed. "Look at the front, the grill is broken!"

"We're tired man. You're seeing things," Jay told him in an attempt to calm him down.

Blinking his eyes, Tyler nodded and turned to Jay. "Yeah, you're right. I'm probably just imagining it."

Jay nodded and looked back at the red SUV. The driver side door opened and a young man stepped out. Jay's eyes began to widen and his jaw slackened as he watched the person walk around the back of the car. It was Will sporting a new look – his dark brown hair was shorter as if sheared off by a pair of scissors and there were stubbles running across his face. He was also wearing a dark gray t-shirt with matching jeans and a black jacket and had a black backpack slung around his shoulder.

"It's Will," Jay mumbled to Tyler. Startled, Tyler got off the metal column he was leaning up against and stared out at the parking lot. "Will!" Jay called out.

Will suddenly stopped walking and turned to the left. A stunned expression came over his face as he watched Jay and Tyler wave their arms at him. His heart pounding, he thought a way to escape them. As a train sped by, separating him from Jay and Tyler, he turned around and headed back to the red car. On his way back, though, he saw a white van careening towards him. When he realized the van wasn't gonna stop, he turned back around and sprinted away. However, across from him, beside the station was the Porter. He pointed a black gun at him and pulled the trigger. Something got Will right in the leg, causing him to fall over. He tried to get back up and run, but a man appeared out of nowhere and grabbed him.

"Traveler, stay down!" the Porter shouted as he switched back to his signature silver pistol.

The man punched Will across the face and grabbed him by the shoulders as the van came to a screeching stop right in front of them. The Porter opened fire, but he missed every shot. The man tossed Will's body into the back of the van and hopped in with him. The van sped away as the Porter stopped firing.

Across the railroad tracks, Jay and Tyler waited for the train to pass by. Their hair fell across their faces as the wind pushed aside by the speeding train drifted away. Lowering his arms, Jay looked over at the train station to see Will gone. In his place, though, was the Porter. Surprised to see the man from the hotel yet again, Jay and Tyler's eyes went wide and their jaws dropped. Feelings eyes set on him, the Porter turned to his right to see Jay and Tyler staring right back at him.


	5. Chapter 5: The Tells

**Chapter 5: The Tells**

As the white van carrying Will Traveler and his former accomplices sped away, Jay and Tyler picked up their bags and ran across the railroad tracks to Tyler's red SUV. They went around the side of the car to find the Porter already standing there ready to open the driver side door. Before he could open it, though, Tyler stopped him.

"We're coming with you," he declared. The Porter glared at Tyler with threatening eyes, but by the look of it, Tyler wasn't about to budge.

Moving his hand out of the way, Tyler allowed the Porter to open the door. Jay stepped into the car and hopped in the seat beside the Porter as Tyler got into the back seat. Starting the engine, the Porter backed out of the parking spot and drove off.

In the back of the van, Will was struggling to fight back against his captors. There were about three people in the van, including the driver. Will kept fighting back and kicking his feet around in an attempt to get away from the men. The two men in the back with him grabbed him; one began to choke him as the other subdued his arms. However, Will fought back like a rabid dog and headbutted the man choking him twice, forcing him to let go. The other man tried to grab his head, but Will kicked him into the back of the passenger seat. Rising to his knees, Will punched the man he'd just kicked across the face and socked the other man in his lip. He seemed to have the upper hand for a second, but the man he knocked into the passenger seat tackled him from behind.

The red SUV raced down an empty neighborhood street as the Porter chased down the white van. In the passenger seat, Jay looked at the enigma beside him and asked, "Did you know Will was alive?"

"I didn't think he was dead," the Porter answered, still staring forward at the road.

Up ahead, in the van, Will was still fighting off his captors. One of the men had sat on his back and wrapped his legs around Will's arms while his partner tied Will's hands together with tape. Will tried to bite the man's hand, but the man grabbed another roll of duct tape and taped Will's mouth shut. His face was turning red as he continued to kick around. The other man finished taping his hands together just as the car crossed an intersection. At the same time, two identical white vans pulled up behind the van Will was in and followed it.

The Porter followed the trio of white vans down a slightly crowded road as he stared at the GPS device in his hand. Leaning over between the two seats, Tyler stared down at the device in the Porter's hand. It showed a blinking green light moving along a map.

Inside the van, one of the men was using a strange device to detect any foreign objects inside Will's body. The man beside him pulled out a switchblade and prepared to cut out whatever they found in Will. The device emitted a regular blinking sound, but once the man directed it at Will's left calf, it started to ring even louder. The other man took the small pistol out of Will's ankle holster and tossed it aside as his partner lifted up Will's pant leg.

The three white vans passed by a black car parked on the side of the road as the Porter was just about to pull up. The Porter swerved off to the side of the road and overtook the black car in order to get closer to the vans. Following close behind, the Porter and the two boys watched as the three vans diverted. One went straight while two went towards a fence. The Porter headed towards the fence as the two vans separated as well.

"Wait! The other van – " Jay began. The second van had turned right while the one they were currently following went straight. He was unsure whether or not they were after the correct one.

"We've got the right one!" the Porter exclaimed.

Dust was kicked up into the red SUV's windshield as the white van sped across a dirt road. Swerving onto the actual, paved road, the Porter followed the van alongside the marina. However, the van came to a stop on the side of a bridge as another white van came up behind it. The Porter slammed on the brakes once he saw the driver of the white van aim a gun at them. The car came to a halt as two bullets flew towards them. The Porter cautiously opened his door and aimed his own silver pistol at the driver as he slowly eased towards the other van. Firing at one another, the two men continually missed. The driver of the second van slid the door open and hopped into the van as the Porter fired one last shot. The white van sped off as the Porter, followed by Jay and Tyler, ran over to the other van.

Free of their tail, the passengers of the white van calmed down. The driver turned around to see one of the men in the back hold down Will's left leg. Will began to scream and groan as the man pressed the edge of his knife against Will's skin. Digging into his flesh, the man scraped out the tracking device the Porter had shot him with. Deep, red blood trickled onto the van as the man pulled his blade out of Will's calf. Will's breathing got harder as the man grabbed the tracking device and stared at it for a second. Looking back at Will, he tossed the device out the window.

New York FBI Field Office

Marlow and Borjes had just gotten back to the Field Office. They had gone down the street to a donut vendor to buy themselves bags of donuts. It had been fifty-four hours since the Drexler Bombing and they had gotten no form of sleep or rest at all. They were obviously worn out. Borjes opened his paper bag and dug in for one of the small donut holes inside. He bit into it as Marlow moaned, "Please tell me you got a lead."

"Techs traced a call to Kim Doherty this morning. It came from a small town in Maine – Deer Harbor," Borjes informed her.

"Are we on that?" Marlow asked, aching to be anywhere but the Field Office with Chambers.

"Nope, Chambers gave it to the boss in the Field Office," Borjes replied, stuffing a donut into his mouth.

Marlow groaned loudly and whined, "That's the only solid lead we've gotten since New Haven!"

"Boston's three hours closer and hopping all the way over there ain't my idea of a productive day," Borjes said as he followed Marlow away from the bullpen. "Besides, we got something else goin' on down here."

Marlow turned to Borjes with a wondering look on her face. All he responded with was a raise of his eyebrows and a slick smile.

Outside Deer Harbor, ME

The soft wind blew back Tyler's soft, brown hair as he stood in an empty field with Jay and the Porter. He scanned the area for any sign of anyone other than themselves, but there appeared to be no one else around. Walking around the field behind him, the Porter stared intently at his GPS device. He was following the signal of the tracking device he put on Will Traveler, the one the men had cut out of him. The Porter crouched down by the dirt to pick up the small, black device.

"What is that thing?" Jay asked, walking over to the Porter.

"A tracking device – they cut it out of him," the Porter said as he palmed it.

"How do you know?" Tyler wondered.

"Because I shot him with it."

"What do you want with Will?" Jay wanted to know.

Ignoring the boy's question, the Porter turned to him and questioned, "The girl in Deer Harbor, the one in the bookstore, did she give you anything?"

"Maya?" Tyler mumbled.

Realizing the Porter had been following them, Jay became infuriated and shouted, "You've been watching us?!"

The Porter didn't answer; instead, he turned away and looked around the empty field. Suddenly, Tyler remembered he had given the watch he was wearing to the Porter during their escape from the hotel. He pulled up the sleeve of his gray jacket and grabbed at his watch. Pointing at the face of the watch, Tyler said, "You put one of those things in my watch, didn't you?" Again, the Porter refused to answered. Angered, Tyler got up in his face and muttered, "Hey, you know we've almost died like eight times out there, huh. Where the hell have you been?!"

"This was never about us for you, was it?" Jay asked, realizing the Porter wasn't out to save them.

"I'm not your guardian angel," the Porter said stone-faced.

"So you were just using us to find Will?"

"Nothing personal," the Porter replied. Stepping up to Jay, he asked once more, "Did she give you anything?"

Jay shook his head and lied, "No. She didn't give us anything."

The Porter turned away and stomped back towards the SUV, pushing Tyler aside along the way. He opened the driver side door and stepped in. However, he realized the keys weren't in the car anymore. Staring out through the windshield, he watched as Tyler pulled the keys out of his pocket and wave them at him.

"Kinda hard to go anywhere without these, huh?" Tyler taunted. Eyeing the Porter coldly, he added, "We're not done with you!"

New York FBI Field Office

"Morgue called. Jenny's on her way down, said she has something interesting on the dead guy from the Drexler," Borjes said. He and Marlow were in her office. She sat down behind her desk while he sat atop it eating the rest of his donuts. Borjes realized Marlow was looking outside across the hall at Chambers. "Don't worry, I haven't told him yet."

"Good 'cause I don't think he would approve of this little detour in the investigation," Marlow replied.

"Why not?"

"Cause right not he's focused on those two boys, and this is about Will Traveler," Marlow answered as she showed Borjes her folder on Traveler. Borjes grabbed the drawing of Will Kim had drawn the first day she was brought in.

Outside Deer Harbor

The red SUV pulled up the side a crop field, in front of what looked to be an abandoned barn. To the right of the car was a massive field of corn stalks while to the left were scarce trees standing tall beside an old, rundown barn. The Porter turned the engine of the car off and pulled out his binoculars from the inner lining of his dark gray jacket. He looked through the binoculars at the barn to see the front bumper of a white van sticking out from inside the stable.

"You think he's in there?" Jay asked as the Porter set the binoculars down.

"Probably a switch point. Two-minute lead, they could be anywhere," the Porter answered.

"Yeah, or they're in there waiting for us!" Tyler chimed in.

"One way to find out," the Porter replied. He reached into his jacket and grabbed the cold handle of his silver pistol. He drew it from the shoulder holster and cocked the gun as Jay and Tyler frightfully stared at it.

New York FBI Field Office

Marlow and Borjes followed a red-haired woman in a lab coat to an empty room in the Field Office. Scattered around the room were files and photos of Jay and Tyler. A bulletin board was pinned to the wall beside the entrance with various composite sketches of the boys pinned to it. Marlow and Borjes followed the red-head over to her computer, where she sat down.

"John Doe from the Drexler, right? Adult male, Caucasian, average build, nice dental work."

"Where are we on DNA?" Marlow asked.

The woman began typing away at her computer as she replied, "We're running it against our database as we speak."

"So, why are you down here? I know you like my company but…" Borjes began. He chuckled at himself as he looked at Marlow who was rolling her eyes at him.

"It seems your victim was dead before the blast."

"What?!" Marlow shouted, dumbfounded at this new development.

"No smoke in his lungs. Plus, he had some minor contusions and a broken neck," the red-head said as she grabbed an x-ray of the victim's neck. The transparent blue sheet showed a skeletal image of a neck with a part of it broken. The woman pointed at the break as she continued, "See there, the anterior displacement between C3 and C4."

"Usually what you see in a quick kill scenario," Marlow commented, handing the x-ray over to Borjes.

"So Burchell or Fog snapped Traveler's neck and planted the body. Fits right with the initial theory."

"Sure, until you see this," the red-haired woman said as she typed something into her computer. A digital image of a man's face appeared on screen. The man had a squared jaw, wide nose, and pronounced brow. "I just finished the facial reconstruction."

Borjes' eyes shifted down to the sketch of Traveler Kim had drawn. It looked nothing like the man in the computer. "That's not our guy," he muttered.

"No kidding," the red-head sarcastically remarked.

"So whoever Will Traveler is, he didn't die in the Drexler," Marlow said.

Outside Deer Harbor, ME

The Porter stealthily snuck around the side of the abandoned barn. He crept into the stable, his gun extended forward. Keeping the gun trained forward, he opened the side door of the white van. As he slid the door open, he waved his gun around. However, there was no one inside. Turning to the barn entrance, he announced, "Van's clear."

Jay and Tyler walked over to the van as the Porter began checking the other parts of the barn. Tyler leaned into the back of the van and looked around. His stomach suddenly dropped as he saw the smeared blood on one side of the van. Tyler stepped back from the van and looked around.

"It's the middle of nowhere," he said to Jay.

"It's worth it! Will is alive," Jay replied.

"How do you know Will is alive, Jay?! There's blood in that van!"

"If they were going to kill him, they would've done it at the train station," the Porter told the boys as he walked passed.

"That's comforting. Thank you," Tyler said in an acerbic tone. Walking over to the Porter, he asked, "So, where do we go?"

"We don't go anywhere," the Porter sternly answered.

"You said after the Drexler, you're the only one who believes our side of the story!" Jay interrupted, stomping over to the Porter. "Why? "

"Because I know there were other people behind the bombing that day."

"Who?" Jay eagerly asked. The Porter, however, refused to answer. He simply turned around and continued scanning the empty field and road around them. Impatiently, Jay grabbed the Porter's shoulder and turned him around. "We're not going anywhere until you tell us! What about Will? How do we find him?"

"You don't," the Porter coldly answered. "Traveler is not your friend and he is not somebody you want to find."

Visibly hurt and confused, Jay looked away from the Porter. He opened his mouth to say something, but the Porter stopped him. There was a rustle of leaves along the side of the road in the crop field. Jay, Tyler, and the Porter all turned to it at once. The Porter immediately reached into his shoulder holster and warned, "Someone's out there."

"What?" Tyler asked, staring out at the crop field. It didn't look like anyone was there, but he knew he should listen to the man.

"Get out of here! This is a trap!" the Porter told them.

Jay got away from the entrance and stood behind the van. Tyler put his back up against the stable wall and looked around. Jay turned to the Porter and defiantly said, "We're not going anywhere until you tell us everything you know!"

He was cut short, though, by the sound of gunfire raging towards them. Tyler covered his head and dropped to the ground as a bevy of bullets flew at his direction. Smashing into the barn's side, the bullets ricocheted around the area and splintered the barn wall. Tyler hurriedly crawled away from the barn wall as the Porter took cover behind the van. He dropped to his knees and aimed his silver pistol out at the field. He took a few shots, but the bullets came again. From the sound of it, whoever was shooting at them was using an automatic weapon. Jay dropped to the ground beside the Porter as the bullets made a trail above his head on the barn wall.

"You have to go! I can't protect you if you stay!" the Porter shouted. He got back up and fired a couple more shots as he repeated, "Go!"

Right away, Jay and Tyler sprinted away from the barn. Tyler tripped and fell to the ground as bullets flew passed him. Jay helped him back up and ran over to the red SUV. He pulled open the door and climbed in as Tyler got into the car behind him. Once Jay started the engine, he immediately switched to Drive and stepped hard on the gas pedal. The SUV kicked dust and rocks up as it raced away from the gunfire behind it.

Inside a hotel room, Will Traveler lay silently on a nicely made bed. Half his body was hanging from the edge of the bed while his other half was plopped down on some soft, fluffy, white pillows. The bedside drawer next to him had a lamp and an alarm clock on top of it. The clock read '1:00' in green. Will was still wearing the same clothes from before as he lay sleeping. His left calf, however, had bandages wrapped around it. Through the thin layer of bandages, the blood left by his cut was still visible.

Will's eyes fluttered open to see the unfamiliar and whitewashed room he was staying in. He blinked twice and rubbed at his eyes with his right hand as he remained on the bed. Suddenly, his body jerked upwards as he heard a beeping sound coming from around the corner outside the room. Getting up off the bed, Will exited the bedroom to find a beautiful woman carrying a plate of food into the room. The lady smiled at Will as she closed the door behind her. She was fairly tall – probably the same height as Will – and had long, dark brown curls and green eyes. Her body was rather lean, but there was a slightly menacing air about her. The way she smiled at Will suggested she had something sinister planned for him. Her bright and friendly demeanor, on the other hand, stated otherwise.

"Hello, Will," she greeted him.

"Who are you?" Will groaned.

"My name is Kate," the woman answered as she set the plate of food on the table. "You don't remember me? We met once at a dinner party. You were charming and I was-I was tipsy."

Kate flashed a smile at Will as she strode passed him towards the window. She drew the dark red curtains, revealing a window that looked out to the city. Bright sunlight passed through the window, blinding Will's eyes. He closed them and turned away as Kate walked back to the table.

"Come. Sit," she ordered as if he was a dog.

Will seemed a bit apprehensive as he remained standing by the window. He watched every move Kate made as she headed towards the table. She held the top of the wooden chair and playfully stroked it with her fingers as she smiled at Will. As he cautiously walked over to the table, Will looked around to the room. It looked like a normal hotel room with a couch, some chairs, and a few paintings hanging from the walls.

"You part of Hometown?" Will asked. He pulled one chair out and sat down.

"Yes, and I am sorry for the way things went in the van. You were on your way to see Maya."

"I thought I needed a safe house."

"Well, we'll save that for later, but right now, I'd like to talk to you about what happened on the day of the Drexler Bombing." Kate's welcoming demeanor suddenly transformed into a commanding and intimidating one. She stared into Will's eyes, boring holes into them. Without anything to say, Will blinked at her and pulled his eyes away.

Outside Deer Harbor

Parked on the gravel shoulder of the road, Jay and Tyler looked over the items Will might've left in the car. The trunk was propped open so Jay could sit in the back. He found some pieces of paper underneath the back seat and was looking them over. Tyler who was sitting next to him turned around then got up off the car. He walked over to the edge of the road and looked out across the field of tall grass.

"You think that guy made it outta there alive?" he somberly wondered.

"I don't know," Jay replied as he sifted through the stuff in the back. He unfolded a map and checked to see if Will had possibly marked something there – a route, a destination point, anything. Unfortunately, the map was clear of any pencil markings whatsoever. Jay folded the map back in on itself and tossed it aside.

"You think we'll make it?"

"Let's just find Will," Jay replied, hoping not to answer that question.

"You heard the guy. He said Will is not our friend," Tyler reminded him.

"Well Maya said something different."

"You know I would love to think that some part of Will's friendship was real, that he can help us, but," Tyler's voice began to crack and his appearance showed just how scared he was, "going back to Deer Harbor, to Maya, whatever it is you're thinking – finding Will is a bad idea until we can figure out who he really is."

Jay looked away from his friend, reflecting on what he had just said. After two years of getting to know someone, he couldn't believe he had no clue as to who Will Traveler truly was. He sighed and bit his lower lip, but then he suddenly realized something. Sticking his hand down his pocket, he pulled out the skeleton key Maya had given them.

"Hey," Jay called to Tyler, showing him the key. He shrugged his shoulders as if asking Tyler what he thought about it.

"Maya said he'd come back for the key, it's gotta mean somethin'," Tyler replied.

Jay leaped off the back of the car and patted Tyler on the back. His friend looked despondent and emotionally exhausted. Jay hated to see him like this; he thought it was his job as Tyler's only friend and confidante to keep his hopes up. He smiled at Tyler as he slammed the trunk shut and said, "Let's go find out."

New York FBI Field Office

Setting the phone back on its receiver, Marlow turned to Chambers and said, "Sir, I just got word regarding our John Doe from the Drexler. Lab techs matched the DNA. Name's not Traveler, it's Paul Murden."

"Could be an alias," Chambers replied.

"I don't think so." Marlow handed Chambers a file with the picture the red-head had showed Marlow and Borjes earlier. Next to it were the results the morgue came up with.

Chambers nodded and said, "So Will Traveler lives." Chambers closed the file and asked, "You get anything else on Murden?"

"Checking accounts, some old W-4s, an address in Harlem," Marlow listed off.

"Good, check it out. I want you to see how this guy connects to Burchell and Fog. I'll have Agent Randall activate the Will Traveler search. Hopefully we'll dig something up."

Marlow was surprised by Chambers' reaction. Honestly, she thought he'd be furious with her for diverting from their route. Chambers was a strict, by-the-book type of guy who hated when others deviated from the plan. It was actually a pleasant surprise that he went along with Marlow's findings and ran with them.

"Marlow!" Chambers called as she walked away. "Good work."

Town Outside Deer Harbor, ME

Tyler waited on the sidewalk next to his red SUV as Jay crossed the street to meet him. As soon as he saw Jay coming near, he got into the SUV. Jay hopped in the passenger seat beside him and displayed the old key in his hand.

"This key's over a hundred years old," Jay said as he closed the door behind him. "The guy couldn't help much beyond that, but he said we might have more luck with a historian."

Tyler nodded and showed Jay a folded piece of yellow paper. "Check this out. I found it underneath the seat."

Jay quickly snatched the piece of paper and unfolded it. "Bay Point Marina," he read.

"Yeah, it's a receipt for a boat slip in Boston," Tyler replied. "It's reserved for the twelfth."

"Tomorrow."

Tyler continuously nodded his head and said, "Will was going to Boston, and maybe, just maybe, he was going there to use this." He took the key from Jay's hand and pointed at the B carved into it. A smile began to form across Jay's tired face as Tyler smirked back and started the engine.

Still in the hotel room, Will sat on one of the black chairs in front of a glass coffee table and a suede couch. He leaned forward on his knees and clasped his hands together before him. Standing behind him by the table was Kate who listened to Will's retelling of the Drexler incident.

"Yeah, Tyler was into the Drexler prank from the beginning – he liked the idea – but Jay – "

"Took some convincing?" Kate guessed.

Will turned his head in her direction and said, "Yeah, par for the course, the guy was a boy scout."

Kate giggled and replied, "So you've said." She picked up a hot tea kettle and asked, "Tea?"

"No, no thank you," Will replied, shaking his head. Exhaling, he continued, "So, I let Tyler do most of the talking – he was usually good at bringing Jay around. We headed inside and I had 'em in the east wing ready to roll at half past on the nose per my directive."

"And then?" Kate asked as she sat across from Will.

"You know what happened next – east wing's gutted."

Kate nodded her head and stared back at Will. She said nothing, but the nonchalant smirk on her bony face told Will she believed there was more to his story. "How did they get out, Will?"

"I don't know," Will replied, his tone of voice getting lower.

Tilting her head as if to hear better, Kate asked, "Did you pull the fire alarm?"

Scoffing at the idea, Will answered, "Of course not."

"Then who did?"

"Could've been anybody. Some people panicked when they took off down the stairs."

"They were supposed to die in the blast," Kate reminded Will. "Your directive was to activate the bomb."

"Bomb was already activated by the time I got there!" Will retorted. "I did as I was told. I didn't change the plan! Someone else did."

Drexler Museum – 2 1/2 Days Ago

As he watched his two friends race down the staircase, Will turned around and stuffed the video camera into his backpack. He passed by a crowd of tourists, waving a brochure for the museum around as they strolled about. Faking a smile, Will nodded to them as he headed down an empty corridor. There was no one else in this part of the museum since it had been closed for renovation. Will scanned the area one more time to ensure no one was watching. Once he made sure all was clear, he hopped over the red security rope blocking the entrance to a small room in the gallery.

Will suddenly stopped in mid-step as he saw a man he'd never seen before bent over the bomb. His accomplices had planted the bomb inside a white cement box inside the room for him. It had a panel that could be opened to see the bomb hidden inside. Will walked over to the man as he finished arming the bomb.

"Who are you?" he demanded to know.

The man climbed to his feet and said, "Time to go, Will. Job's done. We only needed you to get your friends here."

With a concerned look on his face, Will watched as the timer counted down. He looked up at the man before him and tried to walk around him. The man pulled a gun on him, though, and pointed it at his chest. Pressing the barrel of the gun against Will's lean frame, the man affirmed, "It's time to go!"

Will looked at him with a determined expression and grabbed the gun. Twisting his hip, he moved the gun aside and knocked it out of the man's hand. The man went for a punch, but Will blocked with his left forearm and elbowed the man in the face. As his elbow smashed into the man's temple, the man grabbed his left arm and kneed him in the gut twice. Will got out of the man's hold and took a couple steps back. The man charged at Will and threw a kick, but Will stopped the kick with his own. He went in to throw a punch, but the man sidestepped and grabbed at his back. Lifting Will's jacket over his head, the man threw another punch at him. However, his hands got caught in the sleeves of Will's jacket as he pulled it off. He tried to punch Will again, but Will blocked it and slid behind the man. As the man's eyes widened, Will wrapped the jacket around his neck. The man grabbed at the jacket and bit his teeth together tightly as Will kicked him down to his knees. Ruthlessly, Will pulled at the sleeves of his navy blue jacket, snapping the man's neck.

After finishing his account to Kate, Will looked at her with questioning eyes. "What was he doing there?" he wanted to know.

Kate picked up her purse and began rummaging through it. She stopped, though, and answered Will, "Making sure the job got done."

Realizing the people he worked for didn't trust him anymore, Will began to pull himself back. His mouth was still wide open as he leaned back against the back of his chair.

"Will, it is very important that I believe what you tell me, do you understand?" Kate said.

"Absolutely, and I was gonna do my job!" Will assured her.

Smiling, Kate closed her eyes and craned her neck in an attempt to crack the kinks out of it. She went back to her purse and pulled out a silver recording device. Placing it on the table before Will, she pressed the 'Play' button. The sound of people's voices in the background served as a soundtrack to the conversation about to take place. Will's eyes followed Kate as she stood up from the couch and walked around the coffee table.

"Did you get out?!" Will heard his voice.

"Will?" Jay shouted.

"Did you get out?!"

"Yeah, we're at the northeast corner. Where are you?" Jay asked as Kate made her way behind Will.

There was a brief pause, then, "I'm sorry I had to do this."

The last thing Will heard was the sound of the windows shattering and the museum going boom. Gravely, he stared down at the recording device as Kate leaned down next to his ear. Whispering, she said, "Now, I think clearly you changed the plan, Will." Suddenly, she pressed the end of a TASER against the side of Will's neck, forcing him to constrain his stomach and bite his teeth together in pain.

After being electrocuted by such a powerful weapon, Will lost consciousness and drifted into sleep. His eyelids closed over his blue eyes and his body fell off to the side of the chair. Kate managed to catch his body before he hit the floor and sat him straight up on the chair. Will's body slouched forward and his hair drooped over his face as he heaved up and down.

Kate walked over to her purse and pulled out a pair of black plastic handcuffs. Pulling Will's hands behind his back, she tightened the cuffs around his wrists and around the thin wooden bars of the chair. Surely, Will would be knocked out for several minutes or maybe even an hour or two so Kate took her time to rearrange the room. She moved the coffee table to the side and shoved the couch against the wall. This was supposed to be an interrogation so she needed as much room as possible to inflict the maximum amount of pain on Will's body and psyche.

About ninety minutes later, Will's head bobbed up and he strained to lift his eyelids. Opening them, he saw Kate's polished black heels stepping on the carpet of the hotel room. Noticing Will had awakened, Kate began her examination.

"So, what do we know, Will?" she asked. She paused for a brief second then answered her own question. "We know you're not telling me everything, we know that you pulled the fire alarm that morning…"

"Wait a minute," Will tried to interrupt.

Ignoring him, Kate went on, "We know that when you got the order to carry out the job and kill your friends, you hesitated." Almost mockingly, Kate got close to Will's ear and taunted him, "Joseph knew you couldn't do it, and that is why the second man was there."

Without even glancing at Kate, Will began to speak. She sat down on the table beside him and listened closely to his words. "I wanted them to get clear. That's all," Will explained.

"But that wasn't the plan."

Will sighed and added, "Joseph still got what he wanted, he got his patsies."

"That wasn't part of the plan!" Kate pushed. She leaned forward and said, "Let's not forget you were the one who asked for this assignment two years ago."

"I didn't know how it was gonna end!" Will blurted out.

Boston, MA

Jay stood on the sidewalk next to a public payphone with the telephone up to his ear. With one hand, he held up a large yellow phonebook while with the other, he flipped through the pages. Across from him was Tyler who was leaning back against the side of his SUV. They were still wearing the same clothes – Tyler with a gray jacket and jeans and Jay with a dark brown jacket, gray hoodie, and jeans – as earlier in the day, but they had hats on over their heads. Tyler wore the familiar blue Chicago Cubs hat he, Jay, and Will all had.

"Yeah. Hi," Jay said into the phone. "Okay. Excellent. Thank you very much! Alright. Bye-bye."

Jay hung the phone back on its receiver and ripped out a page in the phonebook. "You find something?" Tyler asked.

"Just the finest historical tour in Boston," Jay sardonically answered as he reached for the car door. Turning back to Tyler, he jokingly added, "Guy's name is Benedict for God's sake."

"You ever gamble, Will?" Kate asked him.

Will was still tied to the chair, staring blankly at the white wall in front of him, averting his eyes from Kate. Meanwhile, she sat atop the coffee table, leaning against her left thigh as she looked into Will's eyes. Dumbfounded by the question, Will looked at Kate and asked, "What?"

"Best assignment I ever had was in Vegas, tracking the high rollers, winning the money back if it got in the wrong hands, and learning to read the tells these billionaires try to hide at the big tables," Kate sneered. Will turned away from Kate again, keeping his eyes down on the gray carpet. Her face straightening, Kate demanded, "Look at me."

Will refused; he remained steadfast and silent as he stared out into space. Infuriated, Kate jumped to her feet and grabbed Will by his hair. Wrenching his head back so his eyes would meet hers, Kate said, "I can read you, Will, so no more lies, understand? Do you understand?!"

"Yes," Will replied insolently.

"Good." Kate let go of Will's hair and playfully petted his head, patting his hair back down. She walked around behind Will's chair and leaned against the frame of it. "So, Jay and Tyler are still unaccounted for. It's important that you help us clarify just how big a liability they may be."

Boston, MA

A chubby, old man with gray hair and brown eyes and dressed in old pioneers' garb stood in front of a crowd of tourists at the entrance of a bar. The audience listened fixedly to his speech as he bade them goodbye. Most of them were smiling at how authentic the man made his character seem while others – mostly the children – just appeared bored out of their minds.

"Folks, this ends our time together, but I'll have you know Washington himself considered this among the finest watering holes in all of Boston, so step inside, have a drink, have a few, and good day!" the guide said. He pulled his hat off his head and waved it in front of him as several audience members tossed in dollar bills and coins. They all applauded the man as he bowed and entered the bar.

At the far back of the audience stood Jay who followed the guide into the bar while everyone else scattered. Inside the bar, the guide, Benedict, ordered up two shots of Tequila, which he brought over to a small table in a corner of the bar. Unbeknownst to him, Tyler was sitting at the end of the bar with a beer bottle in his hand. He chugged down the beer as Jay stepped into the bar.

Jay walked over to the tour guide and said, "Benedict Carver, right?"

"Tour's over, kid. Next one's at six if I'm awake," Benedict moaned before taking down the shot.

"Actually, I don't wanna tour. I was just hoping I could show you something."

"Well shouldn't we go to the bathroom for this?" Benedict asked, bursting into laughter. On the other hand, Jay didn't seem even slightly amused. He looked at Benedict with a serious face, prompting him to ask, "What do you want?"

Jay took a step forward and pulled the skeleton key out of his pocket. "It's my grandpa's key. He just passed and left it to me in his will. Thing is, I don't know what it opens and the locksmiths haven't been much help."

Benedict took the key up into his fingers and looked it over. He twisted the key around between his thumb and index and middle fingers several times before asking Jay, "You one of these snobby blue-bloods from Harvard, kid?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Are you not from around here?"

"No."

"Glorious city! Spend some time!" Benedict recommended. Calming down, he said, "I've seen this key a couple times. The B represents a place called Boston Hall."

"Boston Hall?" Jay repeated, confused about what it was.

"It's a library, kid, a couple miles from here. This is a key to one of their research lockers," Benedict informed him as he handed back the key. Jay took the key back and looked it over in his hands. As he did, Benedict Carver took a good look at his face, realizing he looked quite familiar. "You took one of my tours before, kid?"

"No, sir," Jay replied, noticing Benedict was getting too warm. "Maybe next time, but thanks-thanks for your help."

Jay got up and headed across the bar. Benedict followed him with his eyes as he exited the bar. He knew he'd seen Jay somewhere before, but he was too buzzed by then to remember where. Tyler finished his beer and left it on the bar before heading out to follow Jay.

"They're nobody. These guys couldn't buy a clue!" Will told Kate.

However, she didn't seem to believe him as she replied, "And yet they seem strangely adept at life on the run. Are they exceptionally lucky or is someone helping them?"

"I'm not helping them!" Will barked.

"But you are considered for their well-being." Kate had been twirling a pencil around her finger, but set it down as she climbed to her feet. She walked over to Will and told him, "I've been studying you, Will. I know when you're lying. It's written all over your face – those ticks and hesitations. You became friends with them, didn't you?"

Shaking his head passionately as if what Kate had just said was absurd, Will answered, "No."

"What did I just say?!" Kate asked; apparently Will had been caught lying again.

"Okay."

"You lost your objectivity as it related to this assignment."

"Yes."

"Have you spoken to them?" Kate questioned, sitting down on the edge of the table again.

Will shook his head lightly and replied, "Not since that morning."

"Did they know what was going to happen at the museum?" Kate asked like she were interviewing Will for a job.

"No."

"See? We're getting the hang of this," Kate replied, slightly smiling. "Did you tell them anything about the people you work for?"

"No."

"Nothing? No names, no associations…"

"Nothing."

"Never once a drunken conversation about your background or your training?" Kate pushed.

"Nothing beyond what was approved," Will sighed.

A satisfied smile formed on Kate's face. "Interesting. I'd expected worst." Sighing loudly, she stood up and walked over to Will's side. "Oh, one more loose end. What'd you do with the painting?"

Will grimaced, making a face that suggested he had no clue what Kate was asking about. He blinked his eyes a couple times and stared up at Kate. "What painting?" he lied.

Raising her eyebrows, Kate said, "Wrong answer."

Will made a face at her like she was wrong in her assumption, but he was unable to say anything as Kate drew her arm back and slammed her fist against his jaw.

Boston Hall

Boston Hall was a rather large library in the middle of a lush, green park. Freshly mowed grass and tall trees surrounded the library while people of all kinds of backgrounds walked around it. Jay and Tyler walked up a paved path towards the library.

"Founded in 1807, it is one of the oldest independent libraries in the country," Tyler noted.

"Y'know I interviewed up here a couple months ago. One of the top law firms," Jay reminisced.

"You wouldn't have been happy in Boston, Jay."

"I dunno. It seems nice," Jay shrugged as he looked around the park. "But Kim wanted New York."

"Like my dad says, 'there's no success like New York success,'" Tyler said. He stared up at the momentous structure before them, but noticed Jay's mind was somewhere else. Tapping his friend on the shoulder, he suggested, "What do you say we find out what Will was doin' here."

Jay nodded back. "Yeah."

The two boys walked up the steps of the library and entered. There were dozens of people in the library ranging from elementary school students looking for picture books to senior citizens searching for some old, classic novels. In order to blend in better, Tyler picked up a couple books off a shelf he passed by. Carrying the books to a table, he passed by Jay who leaned back against a bookshelf. He was pretending to read a book. Tyler sat down and opened one of the thick textbooks he picked off the shelf. Looking across at the table diagonally across from him, he noticed one of the women seated there had a skeleton key just like the one in his pocket.

The woman stood up, holding one of her books close to her, and crossed the floor. Tyler had no clue where the research lockers were so he decided to follow her over to them. He set all his books down on the table and got up to follow the woman. She greeted the old woman seated at the table in front of a door then walked through. Tyler walked passed her, smiled, and show her the key. The old woman smiled back and nodded for him to go through. He entered the room, which was lined with rows of research lockers.

Inscribed on the key was the number nine. Tyler found the research locker labeled nine and bent down to open it. The skeleton key fit perfectly in the hole. He opened the locker and pulled out the wooden box inside. Concealed in the research locker were several passports and documents. Tyler's eyes grew wider as he dug up the passports; there had to be at least twelve of them. Grabbing one, he flipped through its pages to find the page with Will's photograph on it. It was Will alright, but the information beside it was definitely not his. The name was Christian Malbec and the nationality was South African. Tyler reached back into the locker and found another passport – a Dutch one. The name on this passport was Conrad Neuberg. Tyler shook his head to himself as he dropped the passports back into the locker. Moving aside the files the passports sat atop of, he found a black handgun with some extra ammo beside it. He picked it up and looked it over, but was forced to shove it back into the locker as the woman he followed inside walked passed him. Giving off a sigh of relief, Tyler craned his neck to look out passed the row of research lockers. There was a small, empty garbage can on the side with a black garbage bag in it.

Tyler grabbed the bag and tossed all of the contents of Will's research locker into it. He tied the garbage bag up, slung it around his shoulder, and quickly left the room. Jay passed by him and exited the library as Tyler followed suit.

"You are not going to believe what I just found," Tyler whispered to Jay.

Harlem, NY

Paul Murden's apartment was a ten-story building in Harlem with over fifty small, cramped apartment buildings. Both the outside and the inside were a deep mahogany color that matched the wooden floors and staircases. Marlow and Borjes arrived on the scene and were greeted by the landlord, an old African-American man with balding gray hair. He wore a gray dress shirt and slacks with a black jacket. The two FBI agents followed him up to the fourth floor where Murden lived.

"Hard to believe he died in the museum," the landlord sighed. "Such a terrible thing-terrible thing." He closed in on a wooden door marked '329' and pulled out a ream of keys. "Anyway, this is it – Murden's apartment." The landlord opened the door wide open and waved Marlow and Borjes in. "Here you go."

The two FBI agents stepped into the room and started looking around for anything suspicious. The room seemed fairly ordinary; there was a couch, a small recliner, a coffee table, a lamp, some boxes, and a small TV. As soon as they walked in, though, a thumping sound came from around the corner.

Marlow and Borjes both withdrew their guns and aimed them at the hallway around the corner. "FBI! Show your hands now!" Marlow ordered as a man came out of the bathroom.

It was the same individual who had stolen Kim's photographs – the short man with the bleached blonde hair. His right hand was stuck inside his black leather jacket as he appeared from around the corner. Borjes trained his gun on the man's hand and shouted, "Hands in the air! C'mon, do it!"

The blonde man raised his hands in the air; he was wearing a pair of black leather gloves. Borjes eased towards him and said to the landlord, "I thought you said this guy lived alone."

"He-he did," the landlord stuttered.

"Sir, what are you doing here?" Marlow asked as she stared into the man's emotionless eyes.

"Hey, you hearin' us?!" The man refused to answer; instead, he just stared back at the FBI agents with an uncaring look on his face. Borjes began to holster his weapon as he asked, "You got him?"

"Yeah," Marlow replied, prompting Borjes to take his handcuffs and place them around the man's wrists. Binding the man's hands together behind his back, Borjes began patting him down. As he tapped the man's waist, he felt something jutting out from his belt. He reached under the man's leather jacket and pulled out a black handgun.

"Oh what's this?" Borjes rhetorically asked as he handed the gun to Marlow. "You smell that?"

Marlow stopped to smell the air. There was a strange smell in the apartment that didn't seem natural at all. "Bleach," Marlow said.

"Watch him," Borjes told her as he turned back towards the bathroom. Pulling out his sidearm again, Borjes crept towards the bathroom to find a bizarre substance in the tub. It was like black foam and sounded as if it was sizzling over a hot fire. "Clear!"

Borjes holstered his weapon and grabbed a latex glove from the small box attached to his waist. He lifted the knob of the bathtub faucet to stop the water from flowing into the tub. "Tub's filled with some kind of acid," he noted to Marlow. "He was wiping the place clean."

Boston, MA

Jay had parked the car in the back parking lot of a metal factory. The place was surrounded by a fence and no one else seemed to be around. He and Tyler got out of the car so Tyler could show him what was in the research locker from Boston Hall. After he lifted up the trunk, Tyler set the black garbage bag on the floor of the car and opened it. He reached in and drew out a black 9mm handgun.

"You still think this guy was our friend?" he asked Jay before sticking the gun down the front of his jeans.

"Which guy? Stephen Swift? Or Christian Malbec?" Jay replied as he read off the passports.

"Check this out." Tyler shook out the contents of the bag on the floor and picked up a small file folder with some papers stuck in it. "This is Will's school expenses."

The first document in the folder was a copy of the check used to pay for Will's tuition at Yale. "Paid for by Three Continents Investing," Jay read. "Never heard of 'em."

"Neither have I, but it's gotta mean somethin'," Tyler replied as he grabbed several bundles of money. Slapping Jay's shoulder with one bundle, he said, "We gotta find a computer."

Will sat on the wooden chair he was bound to, sniffing up the blood dripping from his nose. He breathed heavily and had a sobered expression on his face. There was obviously a high tension in the room between him and Kate as he silently sat before her. Kate walked circles around Will as she continued to ask him questions.

"The painting, Will, what did you do with it?"

"Look, I don't know anything," Will lied.

"Of the nine canvases in the east gallery that morning, our source in the cleaning crew found the remains of only eight," Kate said.

"You can trust him, but I don't know what happened to the painting! I didn't take it."

Kate smirked at Will; she could already tell he was lying through his teeth. It looked like she was going to say more, but the phone began to ring. She turned to it then looked back at Will. Keeping her eye on Will, she answered the telephone. "Yes?"

"Hello, Kate," the blonde man from DC said. He was staring at Kate through a monitor in some other room. "You're looking well after your vacation. I trust you enjoyed the seashells."

"Very much. It was just as you described."

"Good. What's your assessment there?" the man wanted to know.

Kate glanced over at Will who was sitting with his head hung low. "It's just a matter of time."

"It's already taken too long. I put you there because of your work in Chicago."

"I understand and I believe we're very close."

"Well I'm afraid he's controlling this interview," the man sternly replied. Kate started to gulp as the man added, "Kate, I'm having the call put through. Get some answers and close his file."

Kate hung up the phone and nodded decidedly to herself. Bringing the phone with her, she walked over to where Will was and set the telephone on the coffee table. "Doesn't have to go like this, Will," she goaded.

"Like what?" Will asked.

Without answering him, Kate raised her eyebrows in a teasing manner and sat beside Will. The phone began to ring a second later and she immediately answered it. "Say hello," Kate told Will as she turned on the speaker.

Will glared at Kate, baffled by what was going on. When the familiar voice came through the speaker, his heart jumped like he'd just been shocked by a defibrillator. "Will," Maya's voice mumbled through tears.

"We already know about your indiscretions, Will. You and Maya getting involved," Kate said with a smirk on her face.

Staggered, Will raised his eyes to Kate. He was drawn back to the telephone receiver, though, when Maya said, "Will. Please, Will. I'm sorry. No. No!"

"Maya!"

New York FBI Field Office

The man with the bleached blonde hair sat mutely at a table in an interrogation room. Borjes paced around the room, keeping his eye on the mystery man the whole time. Marlow bent over against the table in front of him.

"You're only making this harder on yourself, pal," Borjes told him.

"You're impeding a Federal Investigation just by being in that apartment, not to mention trying to destroy evidence," Marlow entered. "You tell us what you were trying to destroy in that bathtub, it might help you avoid standing trial as a traitor."

Tauntingly, Borjes leaned forward and whispered into the man's ears, "We've got Forensics going through the mess you left. They're gonna find out what it was either way. This'll look a lot better for you if we do it with your help."

Nevertheless, the blonde man remained stoic. He simply stared straight forward at the one-way window before him; he didn't even seem to move as he breathed. Borjes leaned back and crossed his arms as Marlow sighed and turned to the one-way window Chambers was watching through. Behind the glass, Chambers stood straight with his arms across his chest. He was getting tired of this useless interrogation.

"This looks bad for you, doesn't it?" the blonde man suddenly derided.

Marlow's head snapped back towards him and she asked, "What'd you say?"

Boston, MA

"There's nothing on Three Continents Investing," Tyler said as he searched the internet. He and Jay had found an internet café in Boston. It was rather small and there was no one else in the café besides the owner and a girl on the other side of the computer table.

"What about – um – this guy, Derrick Sellers," Jay suggested. He was looking through the copy of the check in Will's folder. The check was signed by a man named Derrick Sellers. "He's the one who signed the checks."

Tyler looked over at the check and nodded as he typed it into the search box. "Let's take a look." The search came up with several results. Tyler clicked on the first link as Jay lowered the bill of his hat over his face. A group of teenagers walked into the café, passing them by. "His name pops up in some insider trading thing a few years back, but other than that, he's a ghost."

Jay sighed and looked at the site Tyler was on. His eyes lit up brightly as he said, "He's got a New York address."

Tyler put down the can of soda he was drinking and nodded his head. He turned to Jay who was smiling back at him. At first, he had no idea why Jay would be smiling, but suddenly, his eyes widened with terror. He started shaking his head and said, "No. No! No way!"

"C'mon, we gotta find out who Will is, and this guy backed him. He paid for everything! There's checks here dating back to the day Will moved in." Jay smiled and leaned back in his chair. "If you got a better idea, I'm open to hearing it.

"You know that going back there's crazy, right?" Tyler asked.

"There's no success like New York success," Jay reminded Tyler. Tyler began to chuckle and hung his head back against his chair. Sighing, he nodded his head in agreement.

Kate stood in front of a flat screen TV mounted on the wall of the hotel room. There was a video playing of Will and Maya spending time in Deer Harbor. "We've seen you with Maya, Will," Kate said. She started back towards him and added, "Listen to me: I wanna know what happened to that painting, okay?"

"Stay away from me!" Maya's voice shouted from the speaker.

"I want you to tell me." Maya's voice elevated to a shriek as she continuously screamed 'no'. Kate looked into Will's eyes, seeing the intense anguish in them. "She is in pain, and it will get worse."

"Don't," was all Will could mutter. His body was nervously shaking and his heart was racing like a horse. He felt like he was going to hyperventilate any minute now.

"You have the ability to help her if you tell me the truth!"

Drexler Museum – 2 ½ Days Ago –

Will let go of the sleeves of his jacket, letting Paul Murden's lifeless body crash to the floor. Without even flinching, he walked over Murden's corpse and pulled the fire alarm on the wall. The alarm went off right away, blaring throughout the halls and galleries of the old museum. Will quickly ran over to the box containing the bomb and crouched over it. Whipping out a switchblade from his ankle sheath, he grabbed some of the wires connected to the bomb and cut one of them off. The countdown on the bomb stopped then started to blink.

Successful, Will stood up and saw the painting of the signing of the Declaration of Independence hanging above the bomb. With his switchblade, he started to cut the painting out of its heavy, golden frame. Behind him, though, the countdown on the bomb restarted itself. The red lights along the side of the counter lit up brightly as the numbers began to drop. Will stopped slicing the painting and stared at the bomb in awe. Hurriedly, he cut the painting out of the frame and rolled it up. Sticking his knife into his pocket, he immediately left the room.

"Talk to him!" a man's raspy voice demanded.

"Will? Please, no more, please," Maya cried.

Will helplessly stared at the telephone. He wanted so badly to save Maya, but he felt so powerless. Kate walked passed him and sat down on the couch on the side. "So why did you take the painting?" she asked.

Maya's cries rang out over the voice again, prompting Will to answer. "When I saw the second man I knew I was no longer trusted," Will began. "I knew if I needed to disappear, I could sell it and go underground."

"See, that's the thing. You let that painting out in the open, it attracts a lot of unwanted attention," Kate replied. "And as you know, we can't have that! So where is it?!"

"No!" Maya shrieked.

Flinching, Will turned away from the phone for a second. Stuttering, Will told Kate, "A-a locker. It's in a locker! Grand Central Station, Lower Concourse, Number 893."

"Your tells are so obvious," Kate mocked.

Will sniffed again and bit his lower lip as Maya continued screaming. "Will, he's got a gun! Stop!"

"Where is it, Will?!" Kate demanded to know.

Gritting his teeth angrily, Will felt the veins in his neck pushing out through his skin. Maya's screams penetrated his ears once again as he turned to glare at Kate. "I'm gonna kill you, I swear to God!"

"But not before he kills her! Now tell me where it is!"

"No!" Maya yelled once again.

"It's at the Port Authority!"

"Lie!" Kate crossly boomed. "You have one more chance and I promise you, he will kill her!"

"No! No! Will, please," Maya pleaded.

Will shook his head fearfully as he stared down at the telephone. His eyes were almost filled with tears, but he strained to hold them in. He tightly pursed his lips together as he gawked down at the phone.

"Tell me where it is!" Kate commanded.

Finally giving up, Will's voice cracked, "It's in a car. It's in a car. In the trunk."

"Go on."

Will looked at Kate pleadingly and answered, "It's in LaGuardia. Gold four-door, long term parking lot number three."

"Plate number."

Will struggled to answer as he turned away. "ANM-56V8."

Satisfied, Kate smiled and sighed, "Good. That is good." She got up from the couch and passed Will. "You did the right thing."

"Let her go," Will instructed. He had finished his part of the deal so he expected her to keep hers no matter how coldhearted the bitch was.

"Oh, unfortunately…" Kate started. She reached for her purse and listened to the telephone speaker.

Will looked at Kate with a perplexed expression and mumbled, "Wh-What?"

Suddenly, the sound of a gunshot made Will jolt back in his seat. Maya's screams faded and the telephone speaker went silent. Gawking at the white phone, he whimpered, "I-I told you. I told you!"

Kate closed her eyes and sighed. "It was a recording, Will. He killed her two hours ago."

Kate pulled her hand out of her purse and walked over to Will. She dropped a photograph on Will's lap. It was of Maya, dead. She was laid out on her own basement floor with a bullet hole in her forehead and a puddle of blood underneath her. Will's jaw dropped and he grimaced despairingly. His breathing became irregular as his body trembled with anxiety.

"Never let it get personal," Kate told him as she walked over to the TV to turn it off. "Not in this business."

Fire in his eyes, Will glared at Kate as he forced the tears back into his eyes. As Kate turned off the TV, Will climbed up to his feet and ran backwards. Slamming the wooden chair against the corner of the wall, he shattered it. All that was left of the chair was the wooden bar Will's plastic handcuffs were bound to. Kate hurriedly turned around and pulled her TASER on him. Agilely, Will jumped up and brought his arms to his front. He landed on the floor and pointed the sharp end of the wooden stick at Kate.

"Who's in the hall?" he wanted to know.

"You'll never escape. You've got no chance. Building's covered," Kate sneered.

"How many guards?"

"Your dead, Will, no matter what. Do this right and I promise you won't suffer." The smirk on Kate's face disappeared and she ordered, "Give it to me."

Will shook his head and simply stared back at his nemesis. Kate struck forward with the TASER, but dodged to the side and blocked with forearms. Hitting his forearms against her elbow, he forced Kate back. However, she lunged forward and kicked Will in the side. She thrust the TASER at Will again, but Will kicked her in her sternum and knocked the weapon out her hand. It slammed into the wall as Kate threw a punch at Will's head. He ducked under the punch and rammed his shoulder into Kate's chest. As he tackled her into the wall with the TV, he drove the wooden bar up into her sternum, between her breasts. Their eyes met for a second. Will showed no sympathy for her as her breathing gave way and slumped back against the wall.

Kate's red blood smeared against the clean white wall as she fell into a sitting position. Breathing heavily, Will stared at her with uncompassionate eyes. She stared back as her breathing shortened. Not even a second later, her breathing completely stopped and her head sunk forward. Emotionlessly, Will searched her body for anything useful he could find. He took the switchblade in her ankle and cut his cuffs with them. On the floor beside her was the TASER. Will picked it up and headed over to the front door. Peeking out through the eyehole, he saw nothing in the hallway except for a vase of flowers and a painting hanging on the wall.

New York FBI Field Office

A man in a blue dress shirt closed a large, heavy, blue door labeled '12'. Above the '12' was a small glass window that faced into the holding cell. Sitting inside of it, on the tiny white bed, was the mysterious man Marlow and Borjes had arrested. He sat with his knees up and his arms resting over them. His head was hung back against the wall as he stared out the window with piercing eyes.

Tyler's red SUV sped passed a green highway marker stating 'New York 27'. There were only twenty-seven miles left to go before they returned to the City That Never Sleeps. The sun was high up on the horizon and beamed down on their car. In the driver seat, Jay rubbed his exhausted eyes as he held onto the steering wheel. It had been another day without any sleep. He was starting to feel it as his eyelids began controlling themselves.

In the passenger seat, Tyler rested his head against his hand. He looked down at the glove compartment and opened it. Inside, he found a map with a route highlighted in yellow. A half-smile crossed his face as he remembered what it was for. He turned to Jay and showed him the map. "Check it out. It's the route we were gonna take on our road trip."

Jay looked back at the map for a second, but kept his eyes on the road. Tyler sighed and said, "Gotta hand it to the guy if he wasn't a cold-blooded son of a bitch from day one."

Shaking his head, Tyler tossed the map into the back seat. "You think he was really a Cubs fan?" Jay asked.

Tyler seemed to be taken aback by the question as he reeled back in his seat. He turned to Jay with a puzzled look on his face and replied, "Please! How could he not be?"

"Right? You don't lie about something like that!" Jay smiled. It was the first time the two had such a light-hearted conversation. It was nice to feel like stupid college boys again.

"Sacrilegious!" Tyler stated, raising his hand up. He then reached for his Cubs hat and said, "Speaking of."

"Yeah, they're gonna be lookin' for Cubs fan."

Tyler tossed the hat into the back seat and ran his fingers through his hair. Jay looked at him and suddenly burst out laughing. Tyler, too, laughed out loud. The two boys hysterically laughed with one another as they drove onwards. However, their laughs started to fade away soon after.

Jay nodded his head and said, "He picked the wrong guys to frame."

Tyler nodded in agreement and resolutely added, "Yeah. Yeah, he did."

Reaching for the doorknob, Will opened the door to his hotel room and stuck his head outside. Cautiously, he looked down both sides of the hallway. There was no one around luckily. Placing his back against the wall, Will headed down one hallway and peeked around the corner. No one was in that side of the floor either. Will turned around and walked towards the other end of the hallway. Along the way, he picked up a white towel and wiped the blood from his nose. As he peeked out the other corner, he dropped the towel to the floor. Again, there was nobody in this hallway.

Will was starting to suspect something. After all the lengths his former accomplices had gone through to get him here, he figured they would have tighter security than this. However, there was still the lower floors and the perimeter of the building to take into account. Will started down the empty corridor and found a door. This door looked markedly different from the other ones. It was black and had a small, grated window. Will stared through the window to see something he didn't expect at all.

He opened the door and stepped foot outside the hallway. The hotel wasn't a hotel at all; it was a soundstage, a set used for television shows or movies. The sunlight Will had been blinded by in the room was actually several large spotlights aimed at the soundstage. Surveying the area, Will found it to be completely empty. Searching for the exit, he ran down the corridor.

New York FBI Field Office

In one of the rooms at the Field Office, Marlow stood in front of a bulletin board. She pressed the mug shot of the blonde-haired man onto the board and pinned it down with a tack. Sitting at the desk behind her was Borjes, looking through files of papers scattered about the desk. A female Asian agent walked up to Marlow and handed her a piece of paper.

"Leading matches off the calls to the hotline," she told Marlow.

"Thanks."

Chambers entered the room as the female agent exited. "Anything new?" he asked.

"Twelve calls about shots fired in Deer Harbor, Maine," Marlow answered.

"That's where the call to Doherty originated," Borjes said as Marlow handed him the piece of paper. "Boston field agents find anything?'

Chambers shook his head 'no' and replied, "So far nothing. What about the sludge in Murden's bathtub?"

Marlow sat down across from Borjes and rubbed her hand across her forehead. "Forensics couldn't salvage anything. The solvents used were so powerful – "

Marlow was interrupted by the sudden rising of telephone rings. It seemed like every phone in the room burst with a ring. Chambers turned towards the bullpen and saw everyone scrambling for the phones. With a confused look on his face, Borjes looked at Marlow, who picked up the nearest phone.

"Marlow," she answered.

"Prisoner escape!" a man informed her.

Marlow jumped to her feet and started for the door. "We have a prisoner escape!"

Chambers and Borjes both bolted for the door. Chambers reached for his gun and asked, "How the hell did he escape?!"

Taking the elevator to the bottom floor, the three agents reached the holding cells. All the lights in the floor were off. The entire place was enshrouded in shadows. Marlow, Borjes, Chambers, and the other agents following them aimed their guns and flashlights forward. They all searched around the room, but found nothing. The alarm was blaring over their heads as the red and blue lights flashed around.

Marlow headed towards the holding cell the blonde man was being kept in while Borjes went over to check on the agent guarding him. There was smoke drifting out of the holding cell when Marlow reached it. She pointed her weapon and flashlight at the bed to find a fresh burn mark on it.

"We've got a man down, here!" Borjes said as he checked on the agent.

"How did he get out?!" Marlow demanded to know.

Borjes let go of the young agent's neck and looked at Marlow. He shook his head. Marlow angrily looked up at the dark ceiling and put her hands on her waist. Breathing heavily, she stared back at the bed. Chambers was standing in the doorway staring down at the burn mark as well.

"Who the hell are we dealing with?" Marlow wondered.

As he ran down a dark, empty hallway, Will saw the light of day up ahead. He slowed down and walked over to the exit. The TASER still in his hand, Will surveyed the area as he reached the exit. He walked over to the edge of the platform and looked out at an empty field.

Westchester, NY – 2 Weeks Ago

Will walked down a neighborhood with a mysterious man with gray hair beside him. It was the same man who had been in the blonde-haired man's office in DC a day ago. There were several people in the neighborhood ranging from small children playing in the street to adult couples taking a stroll down the sidewalks. Will looked down at a little girl riding a pink bicycle in front of them and smiled. Three girls in sweaters and tiny shorts jogged passed Will and the man. They looked to be the same age as Will and smiled at him as they ran by. He smiled back and nodded his head as he continued down the street.

It was a fairly chilly morning so Will was wearing a gray sweater with an upturned collar along with black jeans and a long, black jacket that went down to his knees. The man beside him wore a navy blue sweater and khakis with a white dress shirt underneath.

"You've studied the Drexler plans?" the man asked Will.

"Yes, sir," Will politely answered.

"Good. We've set the date. We'll move forward with it in two weeks." Will nodded and kept his hands in his pockets as he and the man passed by a boy on a bicycle. The man smiled at the boy and said to Will, "You know, the past two years have all led up to this point. You should be proud of yourself."

The man smiled at Will, but Will didn't look back at him. He kept his eyes forward and replied, "Thank you, Joseph."

"You know, there is one aspect of this that we haven't discussed yet, and that is your roommates," Joseph said. As a woman and her baby passed by, prompting Joseph to greet them, "Good morning."

For the past two years, Will had been wondering what he was setting his friends up for. All the recorded tapes he had of them, all the forged documents and notes – he had no clue what it was for. Although he was hiding it, Will was somewhat scared and concerned to hear what would happen to his friends. Joseph continued, "They will be framed for the bombing and they are expected to die in the blast."

Will hid his surprise at the announcement and kept a stoic look on his face. Not allowing a single emotion pass through his image, Will simply stared with a blank expression on his face. Inside, though, he was being torn up by his emotions. Joseph looked down at him; he had a hunch Will wouldn't be up to the task and asked, "Is that gonna be a problem for you?"

Will paused for a moment then answered, "No. Not at all." To make sure Joseph believed him completely, he turned to him and stared directly into his eyes.

Joseph stared back at him and nodded his approval. "Good. You're country appreciates it." Will silently gulped and directed his eyes off to the side.

LaGuardia Airport

A gold four-door sat parked in a large parking lot surrounded by many other cars. A silver Mercedes passed by it as a man with black hair headed over to it. The car had a license plate labeled 'ANM-56V8', exactly like how Will said.

The man walking towards it looked around to see if anybody was near. The silver Mercedes that drove by earlier had disappeared and no one else appeared to be around. The man reached into his pocket and pulled out a knife. He stabbed the tip of the knife into the keyhole and jiggled it. A few seconds later, the lock opened and the man lifted up the trunk. His eyes widened and he took a deep breath as he stared into the trunk. He expected to find the painting Will had stolen, but instead, he found a miniature bomb rigged inside the trunk. Two tiny red lights attached to the mechanism glowed and a beeping sound emanated from them. The man didn't have enough time to turn away as the bomb went off.

The trunk of the gold four-door went up in flames. All the windows shattered, sending shards of glass flying out onto the parking lot ground. The trunk door flew into the sky like a rocket and fell on top of another car as the gold four-door rocked around. Flames sprayed from the inside of the vehicle as the man's body was charred.

At the soundstage, Will hopped off the ledge he was standing on and found himself in the middle of nowhere. In his head, thoughts of everything he had gone through the past two weeks raced around. His cold, blue eyes stared out at the vacant field before him as he scanned the area. There was no one or nothing around – not even a single vehicle.

"They will be framed for the bombing and they are expected to die in the blast," Will heard Joseph reveal to him.

"I didn't know how it was gonna end," he remembered telling Kate.

"You became friends with them, didn't you?" Kate mocked. Then, in an angry tone, she told Will, "Now I promise you, he will kill her!"

"NO!!!" Will could hear Maya cry. It was the last thing he heard as his mind raced with thoughts of vengeance. Staring out towards the vast field he stood in, his feet began to move on their own. Everything blocked out, all Will could hear now were the sound of his ominous footsteps heading towards a bitter, inevitable end.


	6. Chapter 6: The Trader

**Chapter 6: The Trader**

After driving around for so long, it was only natural Tyler had to get some sleep. The red SUV was parked on the sidewalk while Tyler sat in the passenger seat with his head hung back and his eyes closed. His body heaved up and down as he slept. Unfortunately, his rest wasn't as sound as he hoped it would be. Thoughts of the things he and Jay had gone through in the last three and-a-half days were fighting for control in his mind. The image of the Drexler going up in flames coupled with the feeling of anxiety that came with running from Marlow and Borjes at the library at Yale caused Tyler's breathing to become heavy and irregular. Suddenly, he jolted up to consciousness when he heard a loud banging on his window.

"You want your car cleaned?!" a homeless man in a blue beanie asked. The man beside him raised a window wiper to show Tyler.

"No," Tyler groaned.

"How 'bout some money then?" the man pushed.

"Please, just leave!"

"What the hell's your problem?!" the other homeless man questioned.

Visibly irritated, Tyler slammed his elbow against the window and shouted, "Get the hell outta here!"

Spooked, the two homeless men raised their arms in the air in surrender and ran away from the car. Tyler watched them run across the street into an alley as he ran his fingers through his oily hair. The last time he remembered bathing was in the motel in Franklin County. A mixture of sweat and moisture from the air mixed in his hair to make it stringy and tough. Tyler kept running his hand across it as he turned to look into the back seat. Jay wasn't there. He looked around and saw Jay standing outside through the windshield.

Tyler grabbed the documents from Will's file folder and rounded them up as he stepped out the car onto the streets of Queens, New York. He looked up at the blue morning sky as he headed across the street to where Jay was. He and Jay had both changed their clothes. Tyler was wearing a gray hoodie and blue jeans with a black jacket and black hat. Jay, meanwhile, was clothed in a navy blue t-shirt with light blue jeans and an army green track jacket. On his head was an orange Texas Longhorns hat.

"Uh… where the hell were you?" Tyler asked, sounding annoyed.

"Who's watch was it last night?" Jay replied without looking at his friend.

Tyler turned his head in a circular motion and moaned, "Oh c'mon! I closed my eyes for two minutes!"

"You're not supposed to sleep at all."

"I got tired. Cut me some slack!"

"This is New York, Tyler!" Jay snapped. He leaned forward into Tyler's face and said, "These people have not forgotten about the Drexler Bombing!"

"Okay. Okay, Jay," Tyler replied. He sighed to himself as he pushed his body against the same wall Jay leaned up against. He looked over to his left and saw a telephone right there. "You thinking about calling, Kim?" he asked Jay.

Jay shook his head and said, "We've taken a big enough risk coming back here. We can't contact anyone the FBI is watchin' – Kim, your father, they're not options."

"I know," Tyler nodded.

Jay bent down and picked up his backpack as he reminded Tyler, "We're here to find Derrick Sellers, figure out why Three Continents Investing was backing Will, and then we either go to the Feds or we leave."

Jay passed by Tyler and started down the street, but Tyler turned to him and stopped him. "Wait a minute. Three Continents Investing is in Midtown. We're in Queens."

"We can't take your car," Jay said. "We were lucky driving for twenty-four hours without getting busted."

"So, what? We walk?"

"This is New York," Jay replied as he slung his backpack around his shoulder. He headed down the street, passed an old man, while Tyler remained by the telephone. Tyler didn't like the prospect of walking from Queens all the way to Midtown Manhattan. He was exhausted, physically and emotionally, and he wasn't sure if he could take anymore running. Sighing, he stuffed his cold hands down his pockets and began walking through the frosty street.

New York FBI Field Office

Chambers was leaned over his window sill, staring out at the city below him. It was the third day of the investigation and he still hadn't had the chance to return home. Luckily, one of his assistants brought him a fresh set of clothes to change into. The outfit he was wearing now was getting musky as he had been in it since day one. Walking away from the window, Chambers untied his tie and hung it up on the coat hanger in the corner of his office. Hanging from there already was the outfit his assistant brought for him.

Chambers cracked the kinks out of his neck and started to unbutton his white dress shirt. He pulled the shirt open and slipped his arms out of the sleeves. Although Chambers was in his late forties, he was still in pretty good condition. He wasn't very muscular, but he was lean and in shape. However, visible on the right side of his back, near his shoulder blade, were two old bullet wounds that had healed up.

In Marlow's office across the hall, Marlow put her phone down on its receiver and stepped out into the bullpen. She turned to Borjes and told him, "Got a tip! Hard location on our boys. Let's go!"

Happy to finally get some action, Borjes jumped to his feet and followed Marlow across the room. Chambers popped out of his room, though, adjusting his tie, and interrupted, "You got something?"

"Eye witness places Burchell and Fog in Boston in the last twelve hours. A library – Boston Hall," Marlow notified her superior.

"What is it with these guys and libraries? Any idea what they were doing?"

"No idea, but we can be in Boston in the next two hours."

"Good. Go!" Chambers ordered. Marlow and Borjes nodded back and headed to the exit. However, Chambers called, "Borjes!" The partners stopped walking and turned back to Chambers. Chambers stared at Borjes and instructed him, "You stay. My office."

A confused expression appeared on Borjes' face as he glanced from Chambers to Marlow. Marlow shrugged at him and left as he unpleasantly sighed and walked over to Chambers' office. He was obviously not happy as he would have preferred to be out there with Marlow that stuck here doing paper work or reading files. Borjes was a military man so it was only natural that he favored the field over the office.

Chambers stood at the doorway of his office, waiting for Borjes to come over. Once Borjes was inside, he shut the door behind him and said, "Last night's escapee – where are we?"

"Situation's gotten a little more complicated."

"Man killed one of our people and walked out the front door. How does it get worse?" Chambers wondered.

"Suspect's still in the wind, we have no leads on his whereabouts, we don't even know who he is," Borjes answered.

"He was booked, wasn't he?"

"Yes, sir. Wouldn't give a name so he went into the system as John Doe."

"Then run his prints!" Chambers suggested. He walked up closer to Borjes; he was right in his subordinate's face now.

"That's the thing. Prints and booking sheets are gone," Borjes replied.

"What about the backups?"

"All missing."

"That's impossible!"

"The processing agent swears he followed procedure."

"Then how do four sets of finger prints disappear?!" Chambers angrily wanted to know. Without an answer, Borjes looked away from Chambers. He couldn't bear to face him. Chambers walked away from Borjes and headed over to his desk. "This guy's a co-conspirator in the bombing. Find him."

Deer Harbor, ME

Whatever was left of the Maya, Will's boat, was surrounded by yellow police tape. One half of the boat was burned to ashes while the other side was simply wrecked. There were holes all throughout the once glorious boat. It was now tipped over on its side with its mast sticking out of the ground.

Will stared at the remains of his boat from the edge of the marina. His and Maya's way to salvation was gone, literally up in flames. Will could practically hear himself telling Maya she was ready for what was going to happen and that she should take the boat if he didn't show up. Unfortunately, she had no chance to do so. Will solemnly looked at the wrecked boat one more time before turning away and leaving the marina.

Deer Harbor wasn't a very big town so Will could practically walk from any part of town to another without becoming exhausted. He headed up an empty street on his way to Maya's house on the edge of town. There were trees on both side of him along with a speed limit sign warning drivers to stay at forty miles per hour. Will walked passed the sign and continued down the street. Five minutes later, he reached the front yard of Maya's home. It was a familiar place. Will had spent much of his time there before coming to New Haven for his assignment.

Deer Harbor, ME – 3 Years Ago

Will sat in the passenger seat of a black Lexus as the car drove down the street in front of Maya's house. Will's eyes were mesmerized by the abundant amount of tall trees surrounding the street. He had never been surrounded by nature like this before. It felt somewhat peaceful to be around some quiet solitude for once.

Will was dressed in a bright red t-shirt, blue jeans, and a white track jacket. His dark brown hair was slicked back like it was before and he was clean shaven. In the back seat were his black and gray backpack and navy blue duffel bag with some clothes and other valuables in it. Sitting beside Will was Joseph in a black and purple sweater vest with slacks. He read off the address on the piece of paper in his hand and drove into the driveway.

"We're here," he enthusiastically told Will.

Ripping his eyes away from the trees and the roadside, Will stared up a quaint, two-story house. The garden beside the driveway was beautiful and was lined with bushes with flowers of all sorts. Will had no idea what the flowers were called, just that they were colored red, pink, white, and violet. Nevertheless, they were appealing to him and added to the tranquil ambiance of this town called Deer Harbor. Joseph put the car in 'Park' and honked the horn.

The front door subsequently opened and Maya stepped out. She was wearing a black tank top and a pair of light blue jeans. Her curly blonde hair was considerably longer. It was quite cold and all she wore was the tank top, but Will guessed she just didn't want to bother dressing up just for him.

Joseph unlocked the doors and stepped out the car, followed by Will. Silently, Will stood back and shut the door as Joseph walked over to Maya. The two shook hands and greeted one another.

"I hope you're doing fine, Maya," Joseph said.

Maya apprehensively nodded and replied, "I'm okay."

Joseph smiled at her and nodded before motioning for Will to come over and say 'hi'. Will hesitantly strode over to where the two were standing and extended his hand out to Maya. "Hi," he softly mumbled. Will looked like a little puppy just recently born into a new world as he introduced himself to his future girlfriend.

"Hi," Maya replied. "I'm Maya."

"I'm… Daniel, Daniel Taft," Will said.

"Nice to meet you," Maya smiled.

Joseph looked at the two youngsters and smiled. He put his hands on both their backs and nodded to himself. "I trust you'll take good care of Daniel, here?"

"Of course!" Maya exclaimed, faking her eagerness.

"Good," Joseph replied, nodding. He turned to Will and said, "I will see you again soon. Goodbye."

"Bye," Will said as Joseph went back to his car and opened the back door.

Will helped him grab the bags and walk them up to the front porch. Joseph waved 'goodbye' to Will and Maya and hopped into his car. He put the car in reverse and started to back out of the driveway as Will and Maya watched him go. He waved to them once more before heading back up the road where he and Will came from.

Alone together, Will and Maya glanced at one another. Maya seemed somewhat worried; Will couldn't blame her, though, since he probably felt as much apprehension as she did. He struggled to smile at her as she opened the door for him.

"Need help with your bags?" Maya asked, ready to pick up his duffel bag.

"Oh, uh, no. No, I got it," Will replied, nervously chuckling.

Maya smiled at him and stepped into her house. Will wiped his white sneakers on the floor mat outside and entered. He looked around the house and found it to appear rather comfortable. The foyer wasn't much, but the living room was quite big. There were two couches lined up in an 'L' shape with a coffee table in the middle and a large screen TV across from them.

Maya turned to Will again and smiled. "Welcome to your new home, Daniel."

Will walked up the cobblestone path leading to the front porch and kicked the door open. The door exploded from the frame and slammed into the wall. Looking around, Will wanted to check if anyone was inside. There was no one there so he went in and looked around. The house looked untouched, even though Will knew dozens of his former accomplices had been in there the day before.

Will opened the door to the basement and climbed down the stairs. The first thing he went for was the stone slab that concealed his skeleton key. He pulled the slab out of the cracked wall to find his key had disappeared. He put his hand on the empty space and tapped it with his fingers.

Deer Harbor, ME – 2 Weeks Ago

Will reached into his pocket and pulled out the skeleton key for the research locker in Boston Hall. He handed it to Maya and said, "You keep this for me."

Maya took it from his hands and wrapped it up in a black cloth. She stuck it in the empty crack in the wall and placed the stone slab over it. Making sure the slab wouldn't move unless someone forced it out, she pushed it hard into the cracked wall.

"Everything's gonna work out," Will told Maya as she came over to him. He stroked her arms and looked deep into her eyes.

"If you say so," Maya muttered. She took Will's hands into hers and began caressing them lightly.

"You're the one I love. I'm gonna be back, I promise." Will let go of Maya's hands and put his own around her face. Holding her face in his hands, he leaned in and kissed her on the lips.

Will walked away from the cracked wall and went to the stairs. He took the photograph Kate had given him and looked at it. In the background of the photo was the staircase before him. Will crouched down and touched the bottom step. Sighing, he stood up and climbed up to the door. He opened it and saw a red dot on its wooden surface.

Realizing someone was attacking, Will darted forward, barely dodging the two electric prods shot out by a TASER held in some man's hand. Standing out in the foyer of Maya's home was a bald man with a goatee, wearing a black shirt, jeans, and a gray jacket. He held a projectile TASER in his hand, which he pointed at Will.

As soon as the man missed his shot, Will rushed at him with a punch. He caught the man with a right hook to the stomach then punched his right leg as he held the man's right arm in the air to keep him from striking back. The man tried to escape Will's hold, but Will punched him twice in the chest and twisted his arm around. Will kicked him in the face and wrenched the TASER gun from his hand. The man regained his balance and threw a kick at Will, but Will grabbed the man's leg and thrust his elbow down into the man's kneecap. The man fell to ground, giving Will the opportunity to strike again. However, the man kicked Will in the chest, pushing him against a small table. Will caught himself before he fell and readied himself to fight back. Holding onto the handle of the TASER and the thin string the electric prods were attached to, he used the man's weapon against him. The man threw two simultaneous punches at Will, but Will used the string to defend himself and wrap the man's arms up. Using the string, Will pulled the man towards him and slammed his head into the man's.

Viciously, Will grabbed the man by the back of his head and began driving his elbow into his temple. Directing his bald assailant towards the window, Will continued smashing his elbow against the man's head. Blood began to fly out of the man's mouth as Will drove his elbow into the middle of the man's forehead one last time. Struggling to remain standing, the man hunched over and spat out blood. Breathing heavily, he raised his head to look up at Will.

"You tell 'em I'm coming," Will warned as he mercilessly roundhouse kicked the man out the window. The glass window along with the solid white frame shattered as the man's hulking body fell through it and landed in the garden outside. Callously, Will stared out the window before turning around and leaving.

Boston, MA

A black SUV parked on the sidewalk in front of the FBI Field Office in Boston. Marlow hopped out the car and stared up at the humongous structure in front of her. The Field Office here was even bigger than the one in New York. She whistled to herself as a man with light brown hair greeted her.

"Agent Marlow?" the man said as he stuck his hand out to her.

Marlow shook his hand and said, "Yes."

"Good morning. I'm Agent Watkins," the agent replied. He led Marlow into the building as he informed her, "Security guards saw suspects leave Boston Hall and drive off in a red SUV."

"Surveillance?"

Watkins nodded to Marlow and led her into an elevator to his floor. In his office, he pulled out a file with surveillance photos. He handed them to Marlow and said, "ATM across the street. Angles no good for the car's plates, but it's definitely your boys."

"Yes, it is. We find the car?"

"APB's out on all matching SUVs," Watkins answered. "Also, I have agents sifting through traffic cam photos within the Boston metro area and toll booth images from highways leading into Massachusetts. Ball's rolling. Next move's your call. Where to?"

"Boston Hall. If we understand where they've been, we figure out where they're goin'."

Midtown Manhattan, NY

Jay and Tyler stood outside a tall building labeled 7253 East 52nd ST. Jay turned to Tyler and said, "Derrick Sellers, Suite 1024."

"Got it."

Jay headed straight for the door and headed into the building while Tyler remained outside a little while longer. They didn't want anyone to see them together right away so it was imperative they didn't enter the building at the same time. Tyler leaned against the side of the building for about thirty more seconds before turning around and going inside.

While Jay took the elevator to the floor the suite was in, Tyler headed up the staircase. Tyler opened the door and walked into the hallway to find Jay there waiting for him. They found the suite easily and walked up to it. Jay placed his ear against the door to hear if anyone was inside. Nothing came from the room so Jay grabbed the doorknob and opened it. Expecting to find some lavish room filled with expensive paintings and liquor, the two boys were surprised to see a fairly empty room. It looked like someone had cleaned house; there was nothing in the suite save for a computer table, a lamp, a printer, and some bags of shredded documents.

Tyler locked the door behind him and looked around the room. He opened the closet to find nothing inside. He turned to Jay who had a baffled expression on his face.

"Looks like a high class operation," Tyler sardonically commented.

New York FBI Field Office

Borjes was in a room on one of the lower floors of the building. He watched as a pathologist worked on the body of the FBI agent killed the night before. The young agent's body was plopped down on a bed with a plastic dome over it. The pathologist, wearing yellow rubber gloves, placed a mask over his mouth and lifted up the plastic cover.

Chambers entered the room from behind and walked over to Borjes. "Agent James Fowler," Borjes said.

"Two kids. Six years on the job," Chambers sighed. He noticed the pathologist was brushing something against the dead agent's neck and asked, "Your idea to superglue fume the body?"

"Yes, sir. Hope the escapee left his prints," Borjes replied as the pathologist stuck tape against the finger print he'd found.

The pathologist took the piece of tape and showed it to Borjes. "The killer's print," he announced.

Borjes took the print and checked it out. A triumphant smirk crossed his face as Chambers congratulated him. "Good call, Borjes."

Boston Hall

Will walked up to the front entrance of Boston Hall. He had apparently changed his clothes. The outfit he wore now consisted of a gray t-shirt, navy blue jeans, and a navy blue hoodie. Strapped to his back was his black and gray backpack and on his head was a blue Chicago Cubs cap. He headed straight for the research lockers. The woman watching the place was busy helping another woman out so she didn't even notice Will walking right passed her.

Will found his research locker and, using a switchblade, picked the lock open. He pulled out the locker, but found nothing inside. Pursing his lips, he dejectedly sighed and pushed the wooden basket back in. A man in a gray business suit walked passed him and he bumped into him.

"Sorry," Will muttered as he walked away. Once the man was out of sight, Will looked at the wallet he'd picked out the man's pocket. There was a considerable amount of money inside. He slipped the wallet into his back pocket and headed out to the actual library.

"They ready for us?" Marlow asked Watkins as they walked towards the research lockers.

"Full access," Watkins answered.

"Who are we gonna be working with?"

"Just their surveillance cameras. They've got them on tape."

Seeing Watkins walking towards him, Will lowered the bill of his hat and walked over to him. Although he had no idea Watkins was FBI, he could tell by his looks he should have some large amount of money in his wallet. Will purposely bumped into him and reached for his pocket. On his way out the door, Will opened the wallet and found Watkins' FBI badge. Stunned, Will stopped in mid-step and looked back at Marlow and Watkins.

Midtown Manhattan, NY

The sky was starting to get dark. Jay and Tyler had been in Derrick Sellers suite for about thirty minutes now and they still hadn't found a thing. Tyler sat at the computer table trying to break into his system. He'd been at it for ten minutes now. Finally, he managed to open the system. Unfortunately, there was nothing for him to look through.

"The only thing active is the operating system," Tyler said. "Hard drive's been wiped clean."

Jay sighed and checked the phone. He picked it up and listened to it, but there was no sound. "Phone line's are dead."

Inspecting the room, Tyler noticed the pile of garbage bags behind him. They all contained pieces of shredded paper. There were probably over ten bags of shredded paper there. While Jay checked the file cabinet on the side, Tyler opened one of the bags and grabbed a handful of shredded paper.

"No files, no paperwork. Derrick Sellers and Three Continents have closed up shop," Jay muttered.

"Yeah, well, guess we found the paperwork," Tyler said, showing the bundle of scraps to Jay. "These are all buy-and-sell orders, stock transactions." Tyler dropped the shredded paper to the ground, but picked one of them up. He looked at the single strip of paper and mumbled, "Hold on."

"What is it?" Jay asked, unsure of what Tyler was looking at.

Tyler grabbed another shred of paper and stretched it out to see everything. "Here we go," he said. He showed the end of the piece of paper to Jay and explained, "See that? That's a ticker symbol." He picked up the others shreds of paper and showed them to Jay. "Here it is, and here it is. And here it is again. How much you wanna bet these guys are insider trading?"

"What's the company?"

"HOL," Tyler read off the ticker symbol. He looked up at Jay and remembered what his father had told him the day of the bombing. "Holloway Insurance," he gasped. "Jay, this is proof! I mean, it might be shredded, but this proves that somebody else knew about the Drexler Bombing."

Tyler's victory didn't last long, though, as he and Jay heard a door opening. Jay climbed up to his feet and ran into the closet. He waved for Tyler to come inside with him, but Tyler wouldn't listen. He stuffed some of the scraps of paper into his pocket and turned off the computer. Remembering the documents he and Jay left on the computer table, he picked them up as well before jumping into the closet with Jay. He closed the door shut and went silent as the door opened.

"Everything has to go," a man in a gray jumpsuit told his partner. "It's all gotta be destroyed."

"Okay."

"You check the closet."

The man's partner nodded and headed for the closet while the man grabbed the garbage bags. Jay and Tyler exchanged worried glances as the man got closer to their hiding spot. With no other option, the two boys burst through the door. Yelling, they knocked the two men to the ground and rushed out the room. Jay was out the door first with Tyler close behind. One of the men they knocked down turned over on his back and aimed a silenced pistol at them. He fired off two shots, but missed. Their hearts racing, Jay and Tyler headed for the door to the staircase and sprinted down the steps.

They made it outside in no time and quickly raced around the corner into an alley. Diving behind a large, green dumpster, they stopped to catch their breaths.

"Who were those guys?" Jay wondered.

"More of Will's friends," Tyler replied as he peeked out to see if they were coming.

"That was our last lead," Jay groaned.

"Maybe not," Tyler replied. "Public records of Holloway Insurance stock sales have to exist somewhere. We just need to find the names."

"We're not goin' to your dad," Jay refused.

"Fine. Fine, Jay, but this is my world," Tyler said confidently. "We can still talk to people."

"Like who?"

"Eddie."

"Eddie? Eddie Hahn?"

"Eddie Hahn," Tyler nodded.

"No! No way! That guy lied and cheated his way through grad school," Jay retorted.

"We can't exactly be picky now, can we?" Tyler sarcastically asked. "He works for Fog Financial for my dad. It's a job he only has 'cause I put in a good word for him. I can make him help us."

Boston FBI Field Office

"What are you taking?" Marlow asked as she watched the surveillance video of Tyler at the research locker. Marlow and Watkins were in a room at the Field Office that had nothing in it, but a computer table, a computer, and some monitors. One of the FBI agents there was helping them sift through the surveillance videos they'd taken from Boston Hall.

"The lock box in question doesn't belong to Fog. Records say it's the property of a D. Taft," Watkins replied.

"We know who that is?" Marlow asked.

"Not yet, but we will," Watkins stated. To the agent, he said, "Go to the next one. Okay this is less than an hour ago," Watkins said. He pointed at the screen, which showed Will Traveler adjusting the baseball cap on his head. The young man looked to be about as old as Burchell and Fog, but Marlow had never seen him before. She leaned forward and listened as Watkins said, "The guy goes straight for the lock box. Keeps his head down, face shielded."

"He knows where the cameras are," Marlow chimed in. The video went on to Will passing by the man in the business suit. "Uses a bump and swipe to pickpocket," Marlow said, sounding a bit impressed.

Watkins watched as the video went on to show himself bumping into Will. His eyes grew wide as he reached into the inner pocket of his jacket. "Son of a bitch!" he cursed to himself.

Marlow ignored him and stared straight at the monitor. Finally, they got a frame of Will looking right into the camera. "Freeze it!" Marlow ordered.

The agent pressed a button immediately, causing the video to pause. Upon Marlow's directions, he zoomed into the young man's face. The image was blurred at first, but with the FBI's technology, the agent was able to sharpen the image. Marlow's eyes widened as she looked into the face of Will Traveler.

"That guy lifted my shield. Please tell me you recognize him," Watkins said.

"Hold on," Marlow replied as she opened her briefcase. She grabbed the drawing of Traveler and said, "I do." She placed the drawing right beside the computer screen and victoriously smiled. "Hello, Will Traveler."

Boston, MA

A pack of horses trotted by, pulling a carriage on wheels behind it. In the middle of a plaza, Will leaned up against the side of a phone booth with the telephone up to his ear. "Hey, it's Traveler," he said into the phone. Waiting for a response, he paused for a second before asking, "You still in business? Good."

New York FBI Field Office

The mug shot of the escapee was laid out on the desk atop a folder with pieces of paper in it. A lab tech sat at his computer trying to match the finger print the pathologist found with anything in the databases. Borjes stood behind him drinking a cup of coffee.

"I got a hit," the lab tech announced.

Borjes set his coffee down on the desk and leaned over the lab tech's shoulder to get a good look at the computer screen. An image of the finger print popped up on the monitor alongside the image of the matching print. In red block letters over the print were the words 'Access Denied'.

"You want this guy's name, you gotta reach out to Counter Terrorism," the lab tech told Borjes. "You know anyone in that division?"

"Yeah, me," Borjes said as he reached for his FBI clearance card. He took the card and swiped it across the small, gray device beside the lab tech's keyboard.

A green bar appeared on the screen and blinked a few times. Borjes' profile showed up a second later, but the red letters appeared alongside it. "No go. Who is this guy?"

"I don't know, but he's protected," Borjes replied, leering at the screen.

Manhattan, NY

Waiting in the plaza across from the Fog Financial building were Jay and Tyler. Tyler patiently waited with his arms cross and his eyes trained on the building. Meanwhile, Jay seemed to be losing his mind as he stood outside waiting for Eddie Hahn to go home. Jay impatiently turned to Tyler and said, "The market closed hours ago. Are you sure he's in there?"

"This guy is an ass-kisser, Jay. He won't leave until his boss does," Tyler assured him. "Trust me."

"I trust you. It's Eddie I'm worried about," Jay complained.

"Eddie is just a means to an end." Tyler noticed the doubt and concern in Jay's face. "Look, this is gonna work out, okay, Jay? I got a good feeling." Tyler turned back to the Fog Financial building to see a man exiting a building with an umbrella. "Alright here we go. See? That's Leland Mathis. He runs the private welfare management department."

"That's Eddie Hahn's boss?"

"Yup. It won't be long now," Tyler said as he and Jay turned their backs to the building. A minute later, Tyler peeked around at the building. A tall, chubby Caucasian man with spiked, light brown hair walked out through the front door. The young man's name was Eddie Hahn, one of Tyler's classmates at Yale. He was a scruffy looking individual with a large beard that went from ear to ear. Even with the black suit and red tie on, he looked shady. "Hey, Eddie," Tyler called as he snuck up on Eddie from behind.

Eddie stopped in his tracks and turned to see Tyler. His eyes widened as he backed away from Tyler and searched for an escape route. "Tyler, what are you doin' here, man?"

Tyler ran up to Eddie and slapped him on the arm. "Just keep walkin'. I came to collect that favor you owe me, Eddie."

"I don't owe you any favor, Ty," Eddie nervously said.

"C'mon, your job! Don't tell me you forget that easily," Tyler replied.

"Look, Tyler, I don't want any trouble."

"Neither do we," Jay interceded. He popped out from behind the Fog Financial sign to greet Eddie. "All we need is a few minutes."

Eddie exchanged glances with both Jay and Tyler and shook his head profusely. "No way! Absolutely not."

"We just need names, Eddie. That's all, okay? A list of equity sales posted for Holloway Insurance last Monday," Tyler said.

Eddie chuckled to himself and replied, "Right. You serious?"

"We just need your computer for ten minutes."

"Lemme see, commit treason?"

"You know us, Eddie. We're not terrorists!" Jay replied.

"Well, tell that to the eleven o'clock news," Eddie told him.

Jay stepped up to Eddie and said, "We are this close to clearing our names. And if anyone else – anyone – could get us the information we need, we'd go to them, but we can't, so you're gonna help us."

Hesitantly, Eddie looked around then led the boys back into the Fog Financial building. They rode the elevator up to Eddie's room, which was on a floor filled with cubicles and computers.

"Where's your office?" Jay asked.

"Down here. Right next to the one that was supposed to be Tyler's," Eddie replied. He unlocked the glass door to his office and stepped inside. Jay held the door open for Tyler as Eddie turned on his computer and searched for the records on Holloway Insurance. Once he found them, he turned to the two boys and said, "Here you go. Last Monday's Holloway Insurance action. Am I done now?"

Tyler looked at the chart on the computer. Jay stared at it as well, but he had absolutely no clue what he was looking at. There were at least seven different types of graphs planted on the chart, and none of them said anything to Jay. Tyler pointed at one of the graphs and said, "There's a spike in volume, but there's no block trades."

"What's that mean?" Jay wondered.

"It means that nobody did anything illegal except for you two," Eddie answered, pointing at Jay and Tyler.

Tyler smacked the back of Eddie's head and ordered him, "Pull up a list of transactions, names, affiliations. Anyone that might've profited from Holloway Insurance."

Eddie sighed and typed something into the computer. He entered a password and the screen changed into a list of names. Tyler leaned in and read the list. "Wait, here, list of private investors. Maxwell Abrams, Ronald Darby, Jack Freed? I've never even heard of these guys."

"Anything else standing out?" Jay asked, still clueless as to what they were looking at.

"No. There are no alarms that are raised."

"So we got nothing?"

"There's no way to tell who was sellin' based on a tip," Tyler replied.

Eddie pointed his finger in the air and said, "Uh… question: how do you guys know you're lookin' for a person? See, smart people remove themselves by a few degrees from inside trades. They sell through a company or a foundation, maybe."

Tyler and Jay shared confused looks. It was a surprise to hear Eddie actually sound smart. He was such a slacker and a jokester in college that it was hard to take him seriously. Another list of names came up on screen. Eddie pointed at the screen and leaned back in his chair. "The Hadley Foundation sold shares that day, Tyler."

"What's the Hadley Foundation?" Jay asked.

"It's a nonprofit, funds after school programs for kids," Tyler answered. "My dad's on that board of directors."

"Your father sold stock."

"A foundation he started sold stock legally. It could just be a coincidence."

"This is proof!" Jay replied. He couldn't believe Tyler was sticking up for his father once again. After everything they'd discovered, all signs pointed to him being involved. "We can take this to the FBI! Your father knew about the Drexler. Why else dump the stock?"

"It's not proof, Jay!" Tyler retorted. "My father is a business man. He moves billions a day. One foundation selling a few thousand shares does not mean he set us up."

"Why do you always cover for him?"

"Because he's my father, Jay! He wouldn't do that! He's the one who told us about the Holloway sell-up in the first place!"

"Think about it. Maybe we were supposed to die in the Drexler. That created a problem, and your father provided a solution by setting a trap at the retreat! We walked right into it!"

While the two friends quarreled with one another, Eddie silently sat back in his chair. He sneakily reached into the inner pocket of his jacket and grabbed his cellphone. Bringing down under the chair, he opened it.

"What are you trying to say, Jay? That my father wanted to kill us? That he wanted his own son dead?" The tone of Tyler's voice showed he was becoming aggravated by Jay. He shook his head at his friend and said, "No. Not until I hear him tell me."

Tyler started for the door, but Jay blocked his way. "We have been waiting for a solid lead!" Jay said. "Now, we need to take this information in. Finding your father is not gonna help anything."

"Nobody asked you to come," Tyler replied as he tried to push through Jay.

"I'm not gonna let you go!"

"Get out of my way."

"This morning, I could've gone to Kim, but I didn't," Jay started. He stopped, though, when he heard a sound coming from Eddie. He ran over to his former schoolmate and pointed the gun at him. "Eddie, give me the phone!"

"Okay. Okay. Alright," Eddie replied, handing the cellphone to Jay.

Jay checked the phone to see if Eddie had made any calls. He hadn't fortunately. Jay stuck the phone into his pocket and turned around to find Tyler leaving the room. He followed his friend out the office and said, "You're mad. I get it! I'd be too."

"Don't patronize me, Jay," Tyler replied. He shook his head at Jay and tried to force his way through, but Jay blocked him again.

"C'mon, let's think this through," Jay recommended.

"Stop making my decisions," Tyler snapped.

"You take off now I won't be here when you get – "

Jay stopped mid-sentence as Tyler spun around and punched him across the jaw. Jay staggered back and rubbed his jaw as his face turn red. He turned to Tyler who glared back at him. "Don't do this, Tyler."

"I have to," Tyler replied, taking off.

The next morning, Jay awoke on the leather couch in Eddie Hahn's apartment. Eddie himself was bound to a chair with his mouth gagged. He was trying to find a way out of the holds, but couldn't muster up enough strength to break them. Jay sat up at the sound of police sirens ringing in the background. He looked over at Eddie, who glowered at him. Running his hand through his hair, Jay looked around the room. He stood up and ripped the gag off from Eddie's mouth.

Eddie tried to bite Jay's fingers, but he moved them out of the way. "You scream and the gag goes right back in," Jay threatened. "Clear?"

"Crystal," Eddie mockingly replied. Jay grabbed the telephone and checked if it was working. "Phone works. Tyler's not gonna call. It's not what guys like him do."

"Well maybe you don't know him like you think."

"Yeah. Right." As Jay ran out to the balcony, Eddie called after him, "I only spent twelve hours a day with guys like him! Hey!" Jay walked back into the apartment as Eddie continued, "He's not coming back. You are on your own now!"

"Shut up," Jay demanded.

"You better have a plan, Jay. Because in twenty minutes, when I don't show up for work, all hell's gonna break loose. I have a deal that closes today; people actually care what happens to me."

Irritated, Jay lunged at Eddie and pushed him back against the wall. "I'm not going to tell you again to shut the hell up!"

"Or what? What are you gonna do? You gonna wave your gun at my face?" Eddie mocked. "Go ahead! Do it! I'm tied to a chair! I'm a hostage in my own apartment, do it!" Jay let go of Eddie and walked over to the couch. "Yeah, that's what I thought." Jay rubbed the back of his head and grabbed his backpack. He started to fill it up with his belongings as Eddie shouted, "Give it up, Jay! C'mon! It's over."

"I'm innocent," Jay replied, showing Eddie Will's passports.

"Not from where I sit," Eddie told him. "Tyler's gone. You are all alone. There is no one left to help you."

"You're right. Tyler is gone," Jay said. "But I'm not alone."

Jay grabbed Eddie's phone and dialed a number. The woman on the other line said, "Lloyd Rogier Gallery."

"Kim Doherty, please."

"I'm sorry, but she no longer works here. Is there something I can help you with?"

Surprised, Jay hung up the phone and sighed. Eddie noticed the worried expression on his face and asked, "Bad news?"

Jay took the phone and took out the battery. He stuffed it into his pocket as he zipped up his backpack. Eddie knew what he was doing; he was going to leave the apartment and leave Eddie without any way to contact anyone. "Jay, untie me," Eddie said, becoming nervous.

"No."

"I promise I'm not gonna call the cops."

"Yes, you will." Jay strapped his backpack around his back and went over to Eddie. He grabbed the gag and put it back around Eddie's mouth. "And when they do get here, tell 'em what we found out about Carlton Fog."

Elsewhere in Manhattan, a pair of FBI agents waited outside a cigar club. The driver picked up a camera and aimed it at the entrance of the building. He started snapping pictures of the cigar club as Carlton Fog walked out with another man beside him. Unbeknownst to the FBI or Fog himself, Tyler was standing off the side in front of Fog's limo. Once he saw his father exit the cigar club, Tyler ducked and ran over to the limo. He jumped into the back and slammed the door behind him.

The limo driver turned around in shock and shouted, "Hey!"

"Hey, Charlie," Tyler said. "It's just me. Long time, man. How you doin'?"

"Right now, not so good," Charlie, the driver, answered.

"Charlie, everything that's been goin' on, it's not true, okay? You know me, I am no criminal."

"I believe you," Charlie replied. Sighing, he added, "Papers, on the other hand, you're already tried and convicted."

"Yeah, I know and that's why I'm here. I need to speak with my dad."

"Is he expecting you?"

"It's kind of a surprise," Tyler said as he turned around to look through the back windshield. Carlton Fog was still standing there talking to the blonde-haired man from DC.

"How's your mother doing these days?" Carlton asked.

"She's out of the hospital. Thank you for asking," the mysterious man answered.

"Of course. Give her my regards, will ya."

"She'll be upset you couldn't make it for lunch. Maybe when you're in DC," the man said as his driver opened the door to his limo.

"In DC?"

"Next time you're down maybe you can visit my club."

"Who's that man with my father?" Tyler asked Charlie.

"Don't know. I think he's up from DC."

Carlton extended his hand for a handshake. The mysterious man shook his hand and smiled back at him. "Jack, thank you," Carlton said.

The man, Jack, leaned forward, Carlton's hand still in his grasp, and said, "No one questions your level of commitment, Carlton. You held up your end of the agreement, right?" Jack patted Carlton on the shoulder and added, "I'll see you in Washington."

Carlton walked towards his limousine as Jack's driver closed the door behind him. He opened the door and stepped in. He didn't even notice Tyler waiting for him inside until he looked at him. A shocked expression crossed his face as he said, "Tyler?" The shocked look faded away as he began laughing and put his hand on Tyler's shoulder.

Tyler looked much less compassionate and ordered, "Drive, Charlie."

As Carlton turned around to see the FBI car follow them down the street, Tyler asked, "You knew, didn't you?"

"I knew what?"

"All of it – me and Jay, the Drexler, the whole setup."

Carlton stared at Tyler before raising the soundproof glass between the cabin and the driver. As Tyler watched Charlie's image fade away, Carlton asked, "What setup?"

"No, don't do that," Tyler replied.

"You need to tell me, son. If you don't tell me, I can't help you."

"No more lies, okay, Dad."

"All I've ever done is try to help you. That's what I've spent most of my life doing actually one way or another."

"I don't need any help not from you," Tyler barked. "I just wanna know why."

"Son, you're not making any sense," Carlton replied.

"Two years ago. You forced me into university housing. That was the plan, right? To get me and Jay in that house with Will?" Tyler's voice was forceful and he sounded determined as ever to get the answers he and Jay were looking for.

"Tyler, I felt that you needed to find your own way."

Tyler pulled a folded piece of paper out of his jacket pocket and told his father, "I know about Holloway Insurance. The sale you made for the Hadley Foundation."

"What is that?" Carlton reached forward to grab the piece of paper, but Tyler took it with his other hand.

"You cashed out before the bombing. You knew it was gonna happen. You offered me up and then you profited from me," Tyler said. "Just tell me, Dad, that you didn't try to have us killed."

Carlton drew his eyes away from Tyler and gulped. As he watched his father turn from him, the fire in Tyler's eyes were blown away by the wind. The grave expression on his face transformed into a sorrowful one. "This is the real world, Tyler," Carlton sighed. "There are choices that have to be made. Some of those choices are bigger than you."

"Choices about what? Money? I mean isn't my life worth more than some stock portfolio? I'm your son!" Tyler growled.

"Son, this has nothing to do with money. This is about making it right! This is about securing the future of this family!"

"Without me."

"You're not strong enough, Tyler. Your philandering, your weakness. You've forced me to shelter you. I've known since you were a child that you couldn't lead this family forward."

Confounded and upset, Tyler nervously shook his head. It looked as if he was going to tear up as he sobbed, "Just like that, Dad? Huh? Just like that, you can wash your hands of me?"

Turning back around, Carlton looked out the windshield and told Tyler, "The Feds didn't make that last light. It's gonna take a couple blocks before the second car picks us up. I would use those few seconds if I were you."

Tyler shook his head at his father and muttered, "Dad."

Carlton reached over Tyler and pushed the door open for him to get out. He stared back at Tyler who looked at him with a distressed face. Scoffing at him, Tyler stepped out of the limousine. Carlton moved over and pulled the door back to a close. He gulped and sniffed like he was stopping himself from crying as he turned to Charlie, "Drive."

The black limousine drove away, leaving Tyler stranded on the sidewalk. Helpless and distraught, Tyler stood still as he followed the limousine with his watery eyes. It felt like his entire world just crashed down all around him as the car disappeared from sight. Tyler angrily bit his lip in an attempt to stop himself from crying. Adjusting the hat around his head, he wiped his nose and walked away.

Boston, MA

"Every cop in the city's got a photo," Watkins told Marlow as he set down a copy of Kim's drawing.

"What about the name on the lock box?" Marlow asked.

"Name's Daniel Taft. The address and the phone number are both phony."

"I guess he paid in cash."

"By mail," Watkins corrected her. "Still have the last envelope, but the lab can't get a print of DNA."

"Do you have any good news?" Marlow sighed.

Watkins took one of the photographs in his hand and set it in front of Marlow. It was a picture of Jay stopped at a toll booth. "Two days ago, Mass. Pike, BU toll booth." Watkins handed her the second photograph and continued, "Twenty minutes later they were spotted on the Route 128 toll booth. These are the only two photos we have."

"Because if they got off the Pike at any exit off Route 128, they would've gone through another toll booth. There's no more photos means they never got off the highway." Marlow noticed the map on the tiny bulletin board behind Watkins. She went over to it and traced Jay and Tyler's route with her finger. "Why go west? No way they'd go back to Fog's house in upstate New York it doesn't fit."

"There's 495. Pike hit it in Waltham," Watkins suggested. "In fact, state's working on the road right now including 495 connected, which means the toll is dug up. No pictures."

"Okay. Say they took the Mass. Pike to 495 north-south, they go north, it's Canada – unlikely, but contact border patrol – or they go south, they hit I-95 and…" Marlow's voice drifted off as she found her finger pointing at the unlikeliest of places Burchell and Fog would go: New York City. "New York?"

"New York," Watkins repeated as he ran over to his telephone.

Marlow stayed by the map and dialed Chambers on her cellphone. "Marlow?" Chambers replied.

"Sir, I think they're headed to New York. They might even be there already."

"Big city, Marlow. You got anything to narrow down the search area?" Chambers asked as he exited his office.

"Not yet, but they'll seek out a friendly place," Marlow answered.

"Alright, we'll get extra eyes on Kim Doherty and Carlton Fog." Chambers put the phone up to his chest so Marlow wouldn't hear. He pointed at one of the agents in the bullpen and ordered, "Start working up a list of known contacts in the city!" Chambers picked up his cellphone and said to Marlow, "You get back here quick."

"Understood."

Still in Boston, Will strolled through the side of a football stadium. Around the corner, behind the stadium, was a parked navy blue Impala with a man standing next to it. The man had long, oddly cut black hair and brown eyes. He had a goatee and mustache and wore a white sweater and black hoodie underneath a brown leather jacket. The man noticed Will coming towards him and hung up the phone. He turned to Will and greeted him.

"Will! Nice! It's been a long time," he said. He extended his hand out for a handshake and asked, "When'd you get back?"

"Didn't come here for a reunion, Jimmy. It's business," Will replied, ignoring Jimmy's hand. Jimmy pulled his hand back and wiped it against his pant leg as Will reached into his backpack.

"Of course. Gotta make a living right?"

Will pulled out several different credit cards. He showed Jimmy each one and asked, "This cover it?"

"C'mon! Do I look like an honest business man to you?" Jimmy asked. "It's cash only. No credit cards. You know that."

"It's not about the cards, Jimmy, it's the identities. I've got ten of 'em. You could pull anything you need off of these," Will replied.

Jimmy looked at the cards and stroked his goatee, contemplating whether to accept the cards or not. Sighing, he resigned, "Alright. Alright, but just because it's you. Step into my office."

Jimmy walked around the side of his car and popped the trunk of his car. He lifted up a red toolbox and some carpeting and set them down on the ground. Hidden underneath the carpeting was a stash of weapons. There were all kinds of weapons inside the trunk; there were knives, such as KA-BARs, switchblades, push daggers, roundels, and butterfly knives, and guns ranging from Beretta M1951s to Desert Eagles to MAC 10s.

"Alright. Just do you thing," Jimmy told Will as he waved at the cache. As Will leaned in to get all the necessary weapons, Jimmy stood off to the side as lookout.

The first gun Will grabbed was the Heckler & Koch USP. The USP was Will's favorite gun; he was used to using it and it had been his primary sidearm in previous missions. Jimmy's USP used .45 ACP cartridges, which packed quite a punch. It also came with a tactical light attachment for use in the dark. Will loaded the cartridge into the gun and cocked it. Aiming the gun forward, he looked through the iron sights to check its accuracy. Checking to make sure the safety was on, he stuffed the gun into the holster on his belt.

Will reached forward again and grabbed a Beretta M1951. He checked the gun's cartridge before tossing it into his backpack. The next gun he found was a Glock 30, which was a rather small gun that fired .45 ACP cartridges also. He checked the sights on the Glock 30 then holstered it in his ankle holster. Like a little child in a toy store, Will played with all the weapons in sight. He grabbed one of the automatic weapons, but ultimately decided it would cause too much commotion. In Will's line of work, he learned the strongest and fastest firing power didn't always mean the best. He left the Uzis and the MAC 10s in the trunk then went for the knives.

Unstrapping one of the KA-BARs, Will checked how well it felt. The KA-BAR was a twelve-inch combat knife mostly used by U.S. Marines. It had a seven-inch blade with a stacked leather handle and a small fuller to make the blade lighter. Will grabbed the sheath underneath the knife and slipped the KA-BAR into it. Closing the top flap of the sheath over the knife, Will shoved it into his backpack with the rest of the weapons he'd just acquired.

"There's one more thing I need from you, Jimmy," Will said as he zipped the bag up.

"Yeah, what's that?"

Will slung the backpack around his right shoulder and asked, "You seen Alex around?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I can help you with that."

"Good."

Boston FBI Field Office

Marlow slipped her arms through the sleeves of her jacket as Watkins held the door open for her. She carried her leather briefcase in one hand as she headed out the Field Office. "Keep the APB on Burchell and Fog updated. They've doubled back on their trail before. Any new information comes in on Daniel Taft, the first call you make is to me."

"Got it," Watkins said as they passed through the bullpen. "And Will Traveler?"

"I've got a TTY out to law enforcement and we've added him to the Most Wanted List," Marlow answered as Watkins opened the door for her.

New York FBI Field Office

Borjes sat at a computer with the escapee's mug shot in front of him. His cellphone was up to his ear. "Marlow," she answered on the other end.

"It's a brick wall – that John Doe I've been working," Borjes said. "Someone higher up on the food chain doesn't want anyone knowing who he is."

"Is he a suspect in another case?" Marlow hypothesized.

"Maybe. Either way, I haven't shared this with Chambers yet."

"Probably smart. See what pans out first," Marlow replied as she exited the Boston Field Office.

"You know anyone in Justice that might owe you a solid?" Borjes asked.

"Justice keeps their nose cleaned. Try Harold Stone, NSA. He's a friend. Use my name."

"NSA?" Borjes repeated. "You got skeletons in the closet I don't know about?"

"Not as many as you," Marlow said as she opened the side door of a black SUV. "I'll be back in two hours." Marlow stepped into the SUV as Borjes hung up.

Manhattan, NY

Will stood across the street from Kim's apartment. There was a moving van out in front of the building with a crew of men loading furniture into the back of the van. One of the men hopped up onto the back and pulled the door down. Jay looked across the sidewalk to find Kim's dad's SUV parked outside the apartment. He stared at it, but was forced to hide when he saw Kim's father walking towards it.

Kim's dad carried a small box of Kim's belongings to the back of the SUV. He loaded it into the back before shutting the trunk and heading back into the apartment. Jay looked on somberly as he realized Kim was moving back with her father. He remained behind the corner, watching the apartment as Kim came out with her dad. He wanted so much to run up to her and grab her, but his brain was overpowering his heart. Kim closed the passenger side door behind her as her father started the car engine. The yellow moving van in front of them took off down the street with Kim and her father following close behind.

New Haven, CT – 18 Months Ago

Jay, Tyler, and Will sat in their usual booth at a local bar in downtown New Haven. The Hideaway was a popular bar populated mostly by college students and working men and women coming home from a long day at work. The three friends had been in there for about an hour already, but they still had a couple more beers left in them. Tyler chugged one down as Will laughed at him. Tyler's face was starting to turn red as he slammed the beer bottle down on the table.

"Woo!" Tyler cheered. "Keep 'em comin'!"

Will and Jay exchanged glances and burst out laughing at their friend. Tyler reached for another beer, but Jay stopped him. He snatched the beer from the table before Tyler could get it to and said, "If you drink anymore, you're gonna wake up naked in the morgue."

"At least I'll be naked!" Tyler replied.

"That's not the point, Ty," Jay laughed as he took a drink from the beer bottle.

"C'mon, what's one more beer gonna do?" Will asked.

"You know how many people die of liver cancer every year?"

"You know how many people die of liver cancer that are twenty-four years old?" Will countered. "C'mon! We're still young, we've got sixty-seventy years tops before we croak. One more beer's not gonna hurt him!"

Jay shrugged and handed the bottle to Tyler. "Fine. But that's it! No more beer after this."

"Whatever," Tyler replied as he took a swig.

Will laughed and shook his head at his friend and Jay got out of the booth. "Where you goin'?" Will asked.

"I'm gonna go pay."

"Hey! Wait! No! I got it!" Tyler interrupted, reaching for his wallet.

"No, Ty, I got this one tonight. You paid last week, remember?" Jay replied.

"But –"

"No, buts. Just drink up and I'll go pay for the beers." Jay headed off to the bartender without listening to another word from Tyler. He leaned over the counter and raised a finger to call the bartender over.

"What can I get ya', Jay?" the bartender asked.

"The bill, please. We're done for the night," Jay said.

The bartender chuckled and looked over at Jay's booth. "I can tell," he laughed. "I'll get that bill for ya'."

"Thanks, Henry," Jay replied as he took a seat at the bar.

"You and your friends are a bit wild, huh?" a woman asked.

Jay turned to his right and saw Kim sitting there. She was sitting on one of the stools waiting for her order. Jay flashed her a big, toothy grin and said, "I guess so."

Kim giggled and asked, "You got to Yale?"

"Yup. Law school."

"I'm an Art Major," Kim replied.

"Oh, art? That's cool," Jay said.

"You don't sound very intrigued by it."

"Oh, no! That's just the booze. I can't even tell what I'm saying right now," Jay laughed.

"Then you won't remember my name?"

"You haven't even given it to me yet."

"It's Kim," she said with a smile.

Jay smiled back and said, "I'm Jay, Jay Burchell."

"Here you go, Jay," the bartender, Henry, said as he handed Jay the bill.

Jay passed him a credit card, which he took and made a transaction with. Jay turned back to Kim and said, "You look really familiar. Have I seen you before?"

"I don't think so."

"You sure? I could've sworn I've seen you before," Jay pressed.

"Like where?"

"In my dreams maybe."

Kim giggled at Jay's failed attempt at a pass. She shook her head and told Jay, "You don't know how unbelievably corny that sounds!"

"Oh, trust me, I do," Jay laughed.

"You're funny," Kim said.

"You're pretty," Jay suddenly blurted. His eyes widened and he gulped. "Sorry, that-that just came out."

"No, it's not a problem. Thank you," Kim replied, smiling flirtatiously at Jay.

Jay smiled back as Henry slid his card over to him. Jay didn't notice and got up from the stool as Tyler and Will came over to him. Will put his arm around Jay's neck and shouted, "C'mon, Jay! Time to head back to the castle!"

"You three want me to call a cab?" Henry asked.

"Nah, we'll find our way home," Tyler shouted back.

Henry shook his head and said, "Alright. Whatever you say."

As his friends dragged him out the club, Jay looked back at Kim and said, "Sorry, I gotta go! Maybe we'll see each other again!"

Kim smiled back and nodded as the door closed behind Jay and his friends. Henry finished making her and her friends' drinks and slid them over to her. She picked up her drink and took a sip as she looked out through the door to see Jay, Tyler, and Will stumbling down the street. She laughed at them as she picked up her friends' drinks. She was about to go back to her booth when she realized Jay had forgotten his credit card. Snatching it, she ran out the door to catch up with Jay.

"Hey! Jay!" she shouted from the bar.

Jay stopped and turned around. Tyler and Will both squinted their eyes to see who was calling their friend. "Who the hell is that?" Tyler asked, staggering off the sidewalk.

Kim ran down the street over to Jay and grabbed his wrist. Lifting it up, she placed his credit card in his palm and said, "You're welcome."

"Oh, thanks. I completely forgot," Jay replied.

Kim smiled and reached into her purse. She pulled out a pen and grabbed Jay's hand. Writing seven digits down on his hand, she said, "This is my number. Don't forget it, 'kay?"

"I won't," Jay replied, grinning at her.

Jay's friends started down the hill without him, but he didn't care. He remained standing there, staring into Kim's stunningly beautiful blue eyes. Kim asked, "You're not really drunk, are you?"

Laughing, Jay leaned forward and whispered into Kim's ear, "Between me and you, not really." Kim started laughing and covered up her mouth. Jay smiled back at her as he headed down the hill. "I gotta catch up to those guys before they get run over. I'll call you tomorrow, though."

"Alright. Good night."

"It was nice meeting you, Kim!" Jay pleasantly called as he ran after his inebriated buddies.

Jay sighed to himself as Kim's father's car sped off. That depressed feeling, though, was replaced by a feeling of alarm. The navy blue car he saw parked behind the SUV followed after Kim and her father. His mouth went wide as he realized he'd have no chance of getting to Kim with the FBI tailing her.

Boston, MA

A group of ducks waddled by two students walking across the grass at Back Bay Fens Park in Boston. The park was fairly large with several people around. There was a woman jogging, an old man sitting alone on a bench reading a book, the two students walking, and a group of men and women practicing yoga by the pond. Will – in his black track jacket with the long, black overcoat over it – walked down a manmade path as he stared at the glistening pool of water to his right.

Will walked up to a couple sitting together at a bench. The man and woman had their arms linked together. The woman was reading the daily newspaper while the man watched a group of children play on the grass. The smile on his face disappeared as Will stood right in front of them.

"Is there a problem?" the man asked.

Will glanced from the woman to the man and said, "Sit down."

The woman – a tall, beautiful, Asian woman in a dark gray turtleneck – stood up and put her hand on her man's arm. "It's okay. Please, let me handle this," the woman said in a Russian accent. The man nodded and walked away, leaving Will and the woman alone. He turned back to them once then went over to feed the ducks. Losing the Russian accent, the woman said, "Will Traveler."

"Hello, Alex," Will replied.

"Let's take a walk, shall we?" the woman, Alex, suggested. Complying, Will followed Alex down the path towards an empty clearing surrounded by trees. "Never one for a subtle entrance, were you, Will? That's why I always liked training with you. Made things exciting."

Ignoring the fluff compliments Alex was making towards him, Will looked straight ahead with a stoic expression without saying a word. As they walked towards the clearing, Alex reached down to hold Will's hand. She held his hand for a second, but he quickly jerked it away.

Alex sighed and said, "Guess the rumor's true. They killed your girlfriend?"

"I need some information," Will said, ignoring her question. "Trigger man."

"I'm not in the loop, Will," Alex replied as she stuck her hands down the back pockets of her jeans. "While you were living the Ivy League lifestyle, I have been playing the good wife to that. I don't know what the assignment is, but I'm gonna keep doing it – and him – because that's the job."

"They crossed the line. Maya was never part of the assignment."

"They way I heard it, you went off-book with the Drexler job – took matters into your own hands."

"Job still got done."

"Done wrong. You screwed up, Will," Alex said as they reached the clearing. There was no one else around, just Will, Alex, and the squirrels and birds.

"When they sent me to Yale two years ago, they told me I was protecting my country. I didn't sign on to murder civilians," Will stated.

"You're not a student, Will. You're a soldier. You, me – we follow orders, and when we don't, there are repercussions. Or did you forget that?"

Alex suddenly stopped walking and pulled a stiletto knife out from inside her sleeve. She swung the blade at Will's neck, but missed. She went for his neck again, but Will ducked and threw a punch at her gut. Alex blocked with her kneecap and swung the stiletto at Will's face. He blocked with his forearm and threw a punch at her shoulder. The punch connected, knocking Alex back. Will followed up with a jumping punch to the side of Alex's face.

Alex quickly regained her balance and fell into a fighting stance. Holding the knife with the blade sticking out the bottom of her hand, she lunged at Will. She went for a stab, but Will jumped back and threw a punch. She blocked with her shoulder and swung the stiletto at Will's chest. She barely missed him as he evaded the attack. Will tried to grab Alex by the shoulders, but Alex knocked his hands out of the way and kicked him forward. Thrusting the blade at him, Alex missed again, allowing Will to sidestep and grab her by the arm. With one hand locked around Alex's wrist and another holding her shoulder, Will twisted her arm and slammed it against his bent knee. The force of the strike caused her to drop the knife.

Alex managed to get out of Will's grab and punched him in the throat. He was taken aback by the hit, which allowed Alex to get another hit on him. She elbowed him in the gut twice and went for a strike to his nose. Will grabbed her by the wrist, stopping the attack. However, Alex kicked her right leg forward. Will fell to the ground on his back as Alex searched for her stiletto. She picked the knife up off the grass and pointed it at Will as he pulled out the USP from his holster. He aimed the powerful gun at Alex, prompting her to stop in her tracks.

"Don't make me," Will advised her, shaking his head.

"Sorry, Will. Orders," Alex replied as she raised her arm to throw the knife at him.

Unfortunately for Alex, Will got a shot off, sending a bullet right threw her left shoulder. The knife flew out of her hand as Will fired off another shot into Alex's right shoulder. Blood sprayed at her face from both sides as she fell to the grass. Moaning in agony, Alex struggled to lift herself up. Her breathing became increasingly heavy as she watched Will walk over to her.

Will holstered his weapon as he crouched down next to Alex. He stared right into her eyes and demanded, "Who killed Maya?"

"I don't know," Alex muttered. She was fretfully shaking now.

Coldheartedly, Will plunged his thumb into the bullet hole in Alex's right shoulder. A deafening scream escaped her lips as Will continued applying pressure to the wound. Alex looked as if she was ready to cry as Will ordered, "Tell me." Again, Alex refused to answer. Her whimpers were the only response Will could get. With as much emotion as a blank piece of paper, Will reached over with his other hand and prepared to apply pressure to the other bullet hole.

"Okay! Okay!" Alex sobbed. "All I know is word got out that Traveler's gone rogue. They want you brought in. That's all I got!"

"Who gave the order?" Will asked.

"I don't know," Alex moaned. Will tilted his head; he didn't believe it. He went for the other bullet hole again, but Alex stopped him. "I swear! I swear!" Will stopped himself and looked down at Alex. She looked pitiful as she breathed heavily and stuttered away. "You've got something they want."

Letting go of the right bullet wound, Will climbed to his feet. He needed to get away from the clearing as soon as possible. The gunshots were loud – as were Alex's screams – so someone was sure to come knocking sooner or later. Will stepped over Alex's body on his way out of the clearing.

"Don't leave me like this," Alex begged, tears coming down her eyes as she strained to lift her body.

Will turned to her and replied, "You're not the one I want dead."

New York FBI Field Office

Marlow entered the bullpen as Borjes got off the phone. He saw her walking in and strode over to her. "I need you," he said. "I just got off the phone with Harold Stone. John Doe has a name: Otis Whaley. No priors."

"No priors?" Marlow repeated, obviously struck by the strange fact. It wasn't every day the FBI found an escapee killer who had no previous criminal record. "Then why's his name classified? Why's he even in the system?"

"Because he's not a suspect," Borjes told her. "He's undercover FBI out of Counter Terrorism. He's one of us!"

"Marlow!" Chambers shouted as he burst out his office.

"Keep digging," Marlow whispered to Borjes as she handed him back the file. She walked over to Chambers and said, "Sir?!"

"We got a hit: Eddie Hahn, a friend of Tyler Fog's. Works at Fog Financial; he had a hundred-million dollar deal closing today, but he never showed up this morning."

"Any calls to his home?" Marlow asked.

"Not a thing," Chambers said as he led Marlow out the bullpen. "Same with his cell. Not his MO according to his assistant."

Manhattan, NY

Chambers, Marlow, and a team of FBI agents arrived at Eddie Hahn's apartment building. They rode the elevator up to Eddie's floor. Chambers kicked the door down and aimed his gun forward as he and his men searched the apartment. There were muffled moans coming from somewhere in the apartment.

"FBI!" Chambers shouted.

The agents surrounded Eddie in the living room, where he was still bound and gagged to the chair. Eddie raised his hands in peace and let out subdued cheers of joy through the gag around his mouth.

"Clear!" an agent shouted from upstairs.

"Clear here!" another agent announced from the kitchen.

Marlow and Chambers lowered their weapons as they realized the apartment was empty. They looked on pitifully at Eddie as he cheerfully laughed at his freedom.

Outside the apartment building, Tyler strode down the alley beside the apartment. He was wearing the hood of his gray jacket over his hat. He was about to turn the corner to the entrance of Eddie's apartment when he saw the police and FBI cars waiting out front. The red and blue lights of the sirens reflected against his face as he jumped back behind the wall.

There were several FBI agents flooding out of the apartment building. Among them were Chambers and Marlow who escorted Eddie out of the building. Chambers opened the door of a car for Eddie to hop into.

"C'mon, Jay, please tell me you got outta there, man," Tyler muttered to himself. He looked around the corner at Chambers and Marlow. Chambers shut the door behind Eddie and put his hands on his waist.

Licking his dry lips, Chambers turned to the side and noticed a head sticking out from around the corner. He immediately looked at Marlow and notified her, "Marlow. Behind me, alleyway."

Marlow looked passed Chambers to see what he had seen. Tyler turned his face right towards them. Marlow confirmed Tyler's identity and grabbed at her radio. However, Chambers stopped her. "No. No radio. We don't wanna spook him. Just spread the word."

Marlow passed by Chambers and began to tell the other agents about Tyler. As she did so, Chambers turned around and switched his radio off. Looking back into the alleyway, he saw Tyler staring right back at him. Tyler gasped and jetted away up the alleyway. Chambers sprinted straight for him and shouted to Marlow, "Marlow, he's running!"

"Call it in," Marlow instructed an agent. She turned and chased after Tyler with Chambers a few steps ahead of her.

The sirens of the police cars began to blare out of control as Chambers and Marlow went in pursuit of Tyler. Darting out of the alleyway, Tyler ran across the street. He raced straight down the sidewalk, knocking aside a woman as he ran passed her. Not far behind, Chambers appeared from around the corner and took off after Tyler. His breathing getting heavier and his body quivering, Tyler hurried down the crowded street.


	7. Chapter 7: The Reunion

**Chapter 7: The Reunion**

Tyler ran through a giant, sprawling parking garage that was several stories high. There were dozens of cars for him to hide around, but he refused to take any chances with the Feds right on his tail. Chambers and Marlow burst through one end of the level Tyler was running through just as he opened the door leading into the adjacent building. He quickly found his way to the stairwell and sprinted down the steps faster than he'd ever run before. Everything around him seemed to be drowned out by the sound of his beating heart. It felt like his heart was about to explode in his chest as he kicked down a door and dashed across the street.

A yellow taxi almost ran Tyler over, but he managed to run around it in time. Several steps behind him, Chambers and Marlow appeared and ran after him. Tyler made it across the street and accidentally bumped into a group of teenagers walking by. There was no time for apologies, though, as he saw the FBI agents closing in on him. Hurriedly looking left and right, Tyler headed down the right side of the street passed a shopping center.

"FBI! Out of the way!" Chambers shouted as he followed Tyler around a corner.

Sprinting, Tyler leaped over some shrubs and ran down a flight of stairs on his way across the street. Traffic was pretty bad in New York, especially at night when the entire city seemed to be out doing something. The street was crowded so much that none of the cars were even permitted to move an inch forward or backward. Tyler ran through the street, weaving around the cars in his way. Chambers and Marlow stopped and scanned the area for Tyler.

Chambers noticed Tyler speeding through traffic and pointed him out. "There! Suspect heading west on 53rd! I need backup!"

As Chambers and Marlow headed down the staircase, Tyler ran straight down the street. He turned his head for a second to get a good look at the agents. They were a few yards away, but Tyler knew if he slowed down now they'd surely catch up to him. Tyler hadn't been much of a runner, unlike Jay and Will, but he was still pretty fast. Endurance was never his thing, though. Sweat permeated his jacket and dripped down his face as he raced through traffic.

Boston, MA

Jimmy's blue Impala passed through a plastic covering and parked inside an abandoned warehouse. There were cargo boxes all around the warehouse along with plastic sheets that covered them. Jimmy parked the car in the middle of the building and stepped out. Playing with his keys, he headed over to a table on the far side of the room. Suddenly, he stopped when he heard the sound of a gun cocking echo through the spacious warehouse.

"Couldn't bring me in yourself, huh, Jimmy?" Will asked, training his gun on his former friend's back. He pushed the nozzle of the USP against the back of Jimmy's head. "Had to leave it to Alex?"

"Obviously there's been some kind of – uh – misunderstanding," Jimmy weaseled as he slowly reached for the gun on his waist.

The sneaky gun salesman swiftly turned around to shoot Will, but Will was much faster and more agile that Jimmy. He grabbed Jimmy's arm, twisted it, and slammed his back against the side of his Impala. The force of the hit made Jimmy toss the gun behind him. He tried to get away, but Will grabbed him by the collar of his jacket and pushed him up to the car.

"Why'd you tell Alex I was coming? Somebody pay you?" Will demanded to know.

"C'mon, Will, I'm just a supplier to you guys!" Jimmy tensely replied. Will had the cold barrel of his gun pressed up against the bottom of Jimmy's head. He didn't feel like getting a hole put through his head any time soon. "Y-You know I don't ask questions."

With his elbow, Will jabbed Jimmy across the face. A painful groan escaped Jimmy's lips as he fell to the ground.

Manhattan, NY

The wide sidewalk was rather crowded with people walking up and down it. A hot dog vendor stood on the side of the street awaiting any customers. Tyler rushed through the sidewalk, prompting the other pedestrians to gaze over at him. He could already hear the approaching police sirens. Behind him, Chambers and Marlow were getting closer with each step. Tyler's legs were beginning to give way, but they were still able to carry him down the street to a small park. As his body trembled with fatigue, Tyler looked around for a place to hide. His tired eyes lit up at the sight of a metro bus across the street.

Up the street, Chambers and Marlow ran down a flight of stairs to catch up with Tyler at the park. Unfortunately for them, Tyler was nowhere in sight. Chambers spun around in a circle, searching for Tyler. He looked behind the fountain on the side, but there was no one there except for a man and woman. Marlow irately sighed and placed her hands on her hips.

"Any sign of him?" Marlow asked as the bus across the street drove off.

Chambers shook his head 'no' and grabbed his radio. "This is Chambers. We've lost Tyler Fog heading west on 55th Street."

Leaning against the corner in the back of the bus that just took off was Tyler. He ripped the black hat off his head and ran his callous fingers through his sweaty hair. Still breathing heavily, he stared out the back windshield at Chambers and Marlow.

"I want roadblocks, bridge and tunnel closures – whatever I can get! And tell NYPD I need bodies down here now!"

In the back of the bus, Tyler slouched back against his chair. There weren't too many people inside the bus at the time, just an old man, two teenage boys, a young black man, and a woman in a blue jean jacket. None of them looked back at Tyler as he clasped his hands over his face.

Boston, MA

Standing on top of the hood of Jimmy's car were Will and Jimmy himself. Jimmy had his hands tied behind his back with coarse rope while a noose was looped around his skinny neck. His face was turning red and blood dripped from his nose. Will held onto the noose with one hand as he pointed at Jimmy with the other.

"I'm gonna kill you, man," Jimmy bawled.

"This is your last chance to tell me what you know," Will said, ignoring Jimmy's pitiful threat.

"I told you, man, I don't know nothing, okay?! I don't know crap! I swear." Will shook his head and patted Jimmy on the chest. He hopped down from the hood of the car, prompting Jimmy to ask, "Where you goin', man?" Instead of answering, Will simply climbed into the driver seat and shifted the car into 'Reverse'. "What are you doin', Will?!" Jimmy cried. "Don't do it, okay! Please, Will!" The car began to back away; Jimmy's feet shook as he felt the only thing keeping his neck from snapping move out from under him. "Will, you don't wanna do this! Alright! Alright! I know somethin'! I know somethin', okay?! Somethin' about Maya!" Will stopped the car and opened the door to listen to Jimmy. "Okay, the guy that killed your girl – he stopped here for supplies on his way to Deer Harbor."

"Who is he?"

"I don't know!" Jimmy shouted. Will cruelly closed the door and started backing out again. "I don't know, okay?!" Jimmy's feet were already at the edge of the car. He could practically feel his neck splitting it half as the wheels screeched backwards. "No. No. Oh God! Okay! Okay!" Jimmy cried. Will put the car in 'Park' and opened the door again. Jimmy took a deep breath and answered, "I don't know his name. All I know is he's got brown hair and he's all inked up and he's outta New York. Okay? That's all I know."

Will stepped out of the car and slammed the door. He snatched the keys from the ignition and tossed them onto the hood of the car by Jimmy's feet. Mercilessly leaving Jimmy hanging, Will started for the exit. Jimmy could hear him walking away. He screamed, "We good, right?! Where you goin', Will?! What are you doin'? You gotta let me down! Will!"

Manhattan, NY

Tyler stood in the center of an empty park next to a phone booth. The park was fairly dark since there was only one street light near. A man passed by the payphone as Tyler dialed Kim's number. His heart sank as he heard her voicemail tell him, "You've reached Kim's cell. Leave a message."

"Please – uh – Kim, I-I don't know w-where Jay is, and-and I-I thought that you might. I-I don't know-I don't know if he was in there – in Eddie Hahn's – when the FBI got there. I went back to get him and-and I guess I was just – " Tyler's stammering was interrupted by the voice of the operator.

"If you are satisfied with your message, please press one," the operator told him. Apparently, his message had taken too long.

Tyler somberly pressed one on the telephone receiver before hanging the phone up. He quietly walked away from the phone booth and stood in front of the tiny pond beside him. With a dreary expression on his face, he felt like everything was coming down on him. First his father and now Jay; Tyler couldn't believe he was losing everyone in his life this quickly. He bit his lip to stifle his crying as he stared down at the pond. In the water, his solemn reflection looked back at him with mournful eyes.

Back at the spot where Tyler lost his tail, all the surrounding FBI agents encircled Chambers. The park was completely filled by FBI agents; however, surrounding the park were pedestrians watching the FBI and the cops. About four NYPD patrol cars were parked beside the park with their sirens swirling around.

"All agents and officers, gather round! If Fog is in the area, then Burchell must be close!" Chambers shouted over the commotion. "I want random vehicle checks in a three mile grid search! Anyone answering Fog's description, anyone wearing a hat, any male between the ages of sixteen and sixty – stop him, search him! Transit police are covering the subways. We are gonna get this guy tonight! Let's go!

Listening to Chambers' orders off to the side was Marlow. Her cellphone began to ring as Chambers finished barking out instructions. "Borjes, any news on Fog?" Marlow asked. She paused to listen to his response, then said, "I'll be right there."

A neon green sign reading 'Dewey Motel' lit up the entrance of a small motel in Manhattan. On the third floor, Jay took the card the motel manager gave him and stuck it into the slot above the doorknob. He twisted the doorknob and pushed the door open as a man in a black suit played with a drunken woman outside their own room. They disappeared into the corner as Jay went inside his room. He locked the door and turned on the lights to search for the TV.

Picking the remote up off the top of the TV, he turned to the news channel. A male reporter was standing in front of a small park that was surrounded by patrol cars. "From the scene of a foot chase that took place on the Upper East Side, FBI officials have refused to confirm reports that they were pursuing Drexler Bombing suspect, Tyler Fog," the reporter announced as the camera man switched the camera over to Agent Chambers who was speaking to some of his men, "saying only that Fog and suspect, Jay Burchell, are still at large."

Jay pressed the red button at the top of the remote, shutting the TV off. He took off the red hat he was wearing and played with it in his hands. Leaning forward against his knees, he gave off a dejected sigh.

"What do we got?" Marlow asked as she entered a tiny garage in a Federal impound lot.

Parked in the center of the garage was Tyler's red SUV. The driver and passenger side doors were both removed while the trunk was propped open. The hood had been removed as well, revealing the dusty silver engine in the heart of the car. A unit of FBI agents was surrounding the car, checking it for anything they could use to help speed up the investigation.

"NYPD spotted it in Roosevelt Avenue in Queens, brought it here. VIN number confirms that it's Fog's," Borjes notified Marlow.

Marlow craned her neck to look into the back of the SUV. "No idea when Fog left it there?"

"Street cleaning was yesterday. It would've been towed any time before that."

"And nothing inside that explains why they would've come back to New York?"

"Not that I can see," Borjes replied, looking into the cabin.

Marlow walked around to the front of the car as she wondered, "Why abandon the vehicle in Queens? Fog was in the Upper East Side, not exactly nearby. It doesn't track. Anything else?"

"You heard that surveillance picked up a phone message Fog left for Burchell's girlfriend?"

"Yeah. Sounds like Fog doesn't even know where Burchell is," Marlow replied, shaking her head. "Kim Doherty's from Queens, right?"

"Chambers said that he convinced her to move back in with her folks. You think this is just about Burchell's girl?"

Marlow answered with a raise of her eyebrows. Borjes squinted at her in response as she turned and left the garage.

New York

Somewhere in New York, at an internet café, Will was sitting at a computer. There was no one else inside the café except for the owner who was far too busy with his computer game to even notice Will. Behind Will, a large, white mechanism finished scanning something into the computer. A copy of the photo Kate left of Maya appeared on Will's computer screen.

As Will used one of the imaging program's tools to zoom into something in the picture, he could hear Maya's screams. The recording of the gunshot that took her life played on repeat in Will's head. No matter what he did, he couldn't get rid of it. He didn't plan on getting rid of it soon, though. It was his motivation – what kept him going. The magnified image on the screen was far too dark to be recognizable. However, Will messed around with the contrast of the photo to illuminate the image. Finally, he found what he needed – a picture of the trigger man's arm, which was covered in tattoos.

Will clicked the 'print' button on the screen and lay back in his chair. Staring at the trigger man's tattoos, he could hear himself vowing, "I'm gonna kill you, I swear to God!"

Queens, NY

The parents of Kim Doherty owned a nice, red house in the Queens borough of New York. The house wasn't very big, but was enough for Kim and her parents. The front porch light was on as Marlow walked up to the door and rang the doorbell. Inside the house, Kim's father came down the stairs to answer the door.

"Mr. Doherty, I'm Agent Jan Marlow," Marlow introduced herself, flashing her badge.

Before Marlow could even finish, Kim's father pointed a finger at her and said, "No. No more! You have put my daughter through – "

"Sir, I know it's been a difficult time for your family, but I have some new information on Tyler Fog and Jay Burchell. If I could just talk to Kim –"

"Talk to my lawyer," Kim's dad retorted. He began to shut the door on Marlow, but Kim appeared from around the corner.

"Dad, wait!" Kim told him. "Let her in."

Kim's father turned to Marlow and glared at her angrily. Apprehensively, he complied with his daughter's wishes and sighed as he opened the door for Marlow.

Manhattan, NY

Like a ghost with no direction, Tyler abjectly walked down a street. He had no hat on and his hood was down; it seemed like he was just waiting for someone to notice him and call the cops. A melancholy expression was cast on his face as he wandered aimlessly about the street.

"This is about securing the future of this family!" Tyler remembered.

"Without me."

"You're not strong enough, Tyler," Tyler could hear his father telling him again and again.

Tyler stopped walking as soon as he saw a bar called O'Neil's Bar & Pub across the street. He headed over and stepped inside. The bar had a nice, friendly atmosphere. It was mostly occupied by men and women looking for a night of fun. No one in the bar seemed to be there by themselves except for Tyler. He took a seat at the bar and blankly stared forward at the rack of liquor in front of him. His mind was so preoccupied that he didn't even notice the cute bartender behind the bar. The bartender was a gorgeous young woman with curly black hair and brown eyes. She was about an inch shorter than Tyler and had a lean, curvy body. Clothing that amazing body was a black tank top and a short, denim skirt.

Wiping her hands with a white towel, she walked up to Tyler and asked, "Hey, what can I get ya'?"

Tyler looked up at her with a dull expression. He didn't say anything for a few seconds, but when he noticed the strange look forming on her face, he ordered, "Three shots of whiskey and a bottle of Cristal." The bartender nodded her head and turned to her rack of alcohols to get Tyler's drink. "Figure I'm goin' down, might as well dull the pain as much as possible, right?"

The bartender grabbed a bottle of whiskey, three shot glasses, and a bottle of Cristal, which she brought over in front of Tyler. "What's that?" she asked.

"Forget it," Tyler replied as the bartender popped the bottle open on his bottle of beer. He picked up the Cristal and began drinking it. Setting the shot glasses in a line, the bartender opened the bottle of whiskey to pour out Tyler's shots. Before she did so, though, she looked at Tyler. He noticed her staring at his face and said, "Yeah that's right. I'm him."

The bartender chuckled and poured the whiskey into the shot glasses. "Lemme guess, the man of my dreams, right? Swear I've heard that one before."

Tyler gazed at her with a confused look then realized she had no idea who he was. Laughing to himself, he nodded his head and replied, "Have you?"

The bartender nodded and mumbled, "Um hmm."

"Well, maybe this time it's true," Tyler said as he knocked down one of the shots. The bartender smiled back at him and walked away to help her other customers.

Queens, NY

Kim set down a glass of water in front of Marlow who sat at one end of the table in Kim's kitchen. "Thanks."

"You have any news about Jay?" Kim quickly asked. The expression on her face told Marlow she didn't want anything to do with her, but she would put up with it if it meant getting any more info on Jay.

"Tyler Fog was spotted in Manhattan," Marlow told her.

"The news said that wasn't him."

"It was Tyler," Marlow declared. "We found his car less than a mile from here. Finger prints place Jay inside."

"Wait, Jay's here?" Kim gasped. She sat down on the chair beside Marlow to keep herself from tipping over.

"Well that's what we're trying to determine," Marlow replied. She expected for Kim to know Jay had returned, but from the astonished face Kim wore, Marlow could tell she had no clue. "Have you heard from Jay or seen him in the last twenty-four hours?"

"N-No."

"What about Tyler? Have you heard from him?"

"No."

Marlow nodded and took a drink from her cup of water. Standing up, she continued, "It must be hard having your family around in the middle of all this." She picked up a picture frame holding a photograph of Kim's dad and her when she was little.

"I guess. My dad's a little – uh – well you met him," Kim replied.

"He just wants to protect you," Marlow said as she smiled down at the photo. She set the picture frame back down and added, "Just like you wanna protect Jay. Thing is, you can't protect him, but I can. I can protect him. As long as he's on the run, he's a moving target, but if he turns himself in –"

"Then what?" Kim intervened.

"I can help him, see that he's treated fairly, that proper procedure is followed when he comes in. That doesn't always happen with terror suspects." Marlow looked at Kim who had a grim expression on her face. She swallowed and sniffed as Marlow comfortingly said, "Something else Kim, I know you were telling the truth about Will Traveler."

Kim's eyes brightened as soon as she heard it. She wanted to smile, but all the other dour emotions she was feeling prevented it. "What?"

"I know Will exists and I think he's still alive. And if you're right that he set Jay and Tyler up in the Drexler, then I think Will might still be a threat to them." Kim hung her head low and nibbled on her fingernails. Marlow jumped to her feet and pulled out her wallet. Inside was her business card with all her contact information on it. "If Jay does try to contact you, give me a call – day or night."

Manhattan, NY

Disheartened and downhearted, Tyler sat at a lonely booth with his back against the wall. His hand was glued to a bottle of beer set down on the table while his face was fixed to a hopeless, miserable expression. He had been sitting there quite some time drowning himself in liquor. There were six empty shot glasses in front of him along with two empty bottles of beer. As he stared down glumly at the empty shot glasses, his mind wandered back into the past.

New Haven, CT – 10 Months Ago

There was a noisy party happening in one of the grad houses at New Haven. There was a large crowd of people in and outside the house drinking beer, listening to music, and just having a plain, good time. In the living room, Tyler was holding onto a glass of champagne as he sweet-talked a stunning, blonde girl.

Tyler leaned towards the girl as she asked, "Does this routine usually work for you 'cause – "

"Wait! Wait! No! Routine? Killer," Tyler laughed.

As Tyler proceeded to flirt with the girl another college student with black hair and mustache came over to the girl and wrapped his arm around her head and shoulders. "Let's get outta here, baby," he told her as he pulled her away from Tyler.

"Wait, this is what you call, okay? Seriously?" Tyler asked the chick.

The girl shook her head and tried to say something to Tyler, but her boyfriend let go of her and got in Tyler's face. "What? You got a problem, bro?"

"No. No. Nuh uh, I don't. 'Cause while you over there drinking shots, I was over here enjoying this beautiful woman's company," Tyler replied. He smiled at the blonde girl who inconspicuously smiled back at him. "So, I think it's you that's got the problem."

"Oh, I got a problem, huh? I got the problem?!" the boyfriend tauntingly asked, stepping towards Tyler. He looked as if he was ready to pound Tyler's head into the ground.

From across the room, Jay saw the two about to tussle and ran over to stop it. He pushed Tyler and the other man away from one other and shouted, "Whoa! Whoa! No one's got a problem! No one's got a problem, alright?"

The blonde girl grabbed her boyfriend and began to push him out of the house. As he was dragged away by his girlfriend, he continued taunting Tyler. "C'mon, skinny, you and me, let's go! Let's take this outside!"

"Yeah. There's the door! Seeya!" Tyler replied, mockingly waving 'goodbye' at him.

"Hey," Jay said, grabbing Tyler.

"Dude, what is your problem? I had that," Tyler said arrogantly.

"Oh you had that?! Easy, tough guy. That guy had thirty pounds on you!"

"Please, I got skills. I could've handled him," Tyler scoffed, taking a drink from his wine glass.

Jay grabbed Tyler by the hand, bringing the glass away from his lips. "I think you need to quit pulling this kind of crap 'cause one of these days I might not be around to save your ass."

Brought back to the present, Tyler stared out into nothingness. His hand still on the beer bottle, he looked around. He hoped to see Jay there; he knew it was unlikely, but there was no harm in wishing. Gulping, he pursed his lips; tears felt like they were about to stream down his eyes. He softly banged the back of his head against the wall and rested his eyes.

Queens, NY

A Chinese delivery boy parked his silver Toyota outside Kim's parents' house. Carrying a brown paper bag, he ran up the steps and rang the doorbell. Kim opened the door and greeted him.

"Hi," she said. The delivery boy pushed the bag into her hands, but she pushed it back. "I didn't order anything."

"It's already been paid for," the delivery boy told her. He pulled the receipt out from his jacket pocket and read the name, "Kim Doherty?"

"Yeah, but I didn't order any – "

"It's already been paid for," the delivery boy urged. He shoved the bag into her hands one more time and left.

Standing at her doorway, Kim looked down at the paper bag with a quizzical look. Stapled onto the front of the paper bag was a piece of paper with Kim's name on it. It was folded over so she unfolded it and read the note inside.

New York FBI Field Office

Chambers entered the bullpen with several other FBI agents behind him. Like a heat-seeking missile, he headed straight for Marlow and said, "You should've told me you were gonna question Kim Doherty."

"I didn't plan on it, sir, but when we found Fog's car, I put two and two together. I didn't wanna waste any time," Marlow replied.

"Waste time? What about all the time I've spent cultivating Doherty as a witness, Marlow? You consider that a waste?" Chambers asked. At a desk, Borjes looked up; he heard Chambers and Marlow bickering and wanted to see what was up.

"Sir, I – "

"What are you trying to do? Make yourself look better? Cut me out of the loop?"

"No."

"Good. Don't."

Queens, NY

It was fairly late now so Kim started to turn off all the lights in her parent's home. Her parents had fallen asleep about an hour ago. She walked over to a window and looked between the curtains. A gold sedan was parked outside across the street. It wasn't very subtle since Kim already knew it was the FBI watching her. Inside, the driver watched her home with a pair of binoculars while his partner drank a cup of coffee.

Kim headed down the stairs and turned off the light by the foyer. She walked across the hallway to the kitchen. There was a door there that led to the backyard. Stealthily, she turned the doorknob quietly and snuck out the house. Tossing her purse over the fence, she grabbed the ledge and lifted her body over. Half her body dangling on the other side of the fence, she looked back at her house. All the lights were still turned off so no one had noticed she had left. Taking a deep breath, she climbed over to the other side of the fence and dropped down onto the sidewalk.

Manhattan, NY

The bartender grabbed a receipt from the cash register and made her way towards Tyler's booth. He was still sitting there, looking despondent and wretched. She flashed him a gorgeous smile and said, "Listen, my shift's ending. If you wouldn't mind settling your tab…" She set the receipt down in front of him and smiled again.

Tyler looked down at the receipt and picked it up. He hadn't noticed, but he spent an ample amount of money on booze. Chuckling on the inside, he set the receipt back on the table and looked up at the bartender.

The bartender furrowed her brow then started laughing. "Anyone ever tell you you look like that bomber guy?"

Tyler slowly nodded and replied, "Yeah. Yeah, I been gettin' that a lot this week."

Seductively, the bartender's smile turned into a look of temptation and leaned her back against the table. Sitting on the edge of it, she grasped the bottom of the table and bit her lower lip. Tyler looked at her; he had no idea what she was doing, but he liked it. The two smiled at one another as their eyes met.

Kim arrived at the apartment Jay had rented earlier in the night. She looked down at the piece of paper from the bag just to make sure she had the right room. It was room number eight alright. She knocked on the door and Jay quickly opened it. He hastily grabbed Kim and pulled her into the room. As quickly as he had opened it, he slammed the door shut behind Kim.

Locking the door, Jay smiled at Kim and whispered, "I wasn't sure if you were gonna come."

"Neither was I," Kim replied. There was an angry expression on her face that Jay couldn't understand.

"I missed you," he said, nonetheless.

He reached for a kiss, but Kim denied him. She grabbed his forearms and pulled them away from her face. "Jay!" she uttered.

Surprised, Jay put his hands down to his sides and looked Kim in the eyes. "What? What is it?"

"I don't know," Kim said through gritted teeth. She walked over to Jay's bed and dropped her purse on it.

Jay followed her and said, "Hey, it's me! You can talk to me about it. Please! Please!"

Kim turned to him, her eyes almost filled with tears. "It's just, you don't know what it's been like since you've left."

"I know. I know it hasn't been easy for you. I'm sorry." Jay put his hands on Kim's shoulders and continued, "I've got a plan, and soon, everything-everything will get back to normal."

"Normal?" Kim repeated. "Nothing is normal, Jay! Everything is different! Everything is gone!"

"No…"

"Yes, it is! Your career, my career – gone! Our apartment – gone! Our life together – gone. Because-Because you ran!" Kim screamed. The bitter tone of her voice hurt Jay, but he loved her too much to let it get to him. Kim covered her mouth then rubbed her forehead.

"I promised I'd come back for you and I did," Jay said, holding Kim close to him.

He clasped one hand on the left side of her face. A tear dropped from her eye as she touched Jay's hand. Jay grabbed her other cheek with his right hand and leaned in for a kiss. Kim kissed him back and put her arms around his waist. They froze for a moment and looked at one another with passionate eyes.

New Haven, CT – 18 Months Ago

Jay held onto the black wireless telephone and looked at it like he was going to call someone. However, he'd been staring at the phone for about two minutes now without doing anything. In his right hand, he had a piece of paper with Kim's number scribbled on it. He had transplanted it from his palm to the piece of paper once he got home from the Hideaway a couple nights ago. Even though he wanted to, he still hadn't found the time, or the courage, to make the call.

"You're thinkin' 'bout calling that girl from the bar aren't you?" Will asked from the recliner. He put his magazine down and looked over at Jay who sat at the dining table. He'd been sitting there for some time, doing nothing. Jay looked back at Will and raised his eyebrows. "Lemme give you some advice: don't. It's not worth it, man."

"What do you mean it's not worth it? It's a chick," Jay said.

"I doubt she was even that pretty."

"You didn't even see her! And if you did, you were probably too drunk to know what she looked like," Jay retorted.

"Trust me, Jay, never ever go on a date with a girl you met at a bar," Will replied.

"Why not, huh?"

"Okay. For one, it's not classy for women to be on the lookout for guys at bars. Two, women you meet at bars are either sluts or transvestites," Will answered. "Exhibit A, Roxy – that girl Ty met at the Hideaway last month. Remember her?"

"Roxy was a psycho and she cheated on Tyler with two different guys."

"Exactly. You don't wanna be go out with a girl like that!"

"Kim-Kim's not like that," Jay said.

"How do you know? You've talked to her once," Will countered.

"That's why I have to call her – to see what she's like!"

"Do you wanna know what number three is?" Will asked.

"No."

Completely ignoring Jay, Will went on, "Three, a man has never met a woman at a bar and fallen in love with her."

Jay made a perplexed look at Will and asked, "How could you possibly know that?" Will lifted up the Time Magazine he was reading and smiled. Jay chuckled and shook his head. "I doubt Time Magazine gives out dating tips."

Will watched as Jay looked at the scrap of paper and began to dial Kim's number. "Don't do it, man," Will said, shaking his head.

"Too late," Jay whispered as he listened to the phone ringing on the other end. An excited smile formed on his face as he waited for an answer.

"Hello?" Kim answered.

"Hey, Kim, it's – " The line suddenly cut off. Jay listened to the call dropping and looked down at the telephone. The phone's battery was still full so it couldn't have been that. He turned around and saw Will standing by the phone jack holding the cord. "What the hell, Will?!"

"I'm tellin' you, Jay, don't do it," Will said as he dropped the phone.

Jay slammed the telephone on the dining table and stomped over to Will. Getting up in his face, Jay growled, "I'm calling this girl, Will. I like her, and there is nothing you can do to stop me. Okay?"

Will sighed and looked up at Jay with a defeated look. Raising his hands in surrender, he shook his head and walked away. Jay bent down and put the cord back into the phone jack as he watched Will climb up the staircase.

Jay listened to the phone ring again. "Hello?" Kim answered one more time.

"Hey, Kim, it's Jay."

"Oh, hi, Jay! How are you?" Kim joyfully asked. "I didn't think you'd call."

"And miss the chance to talk to you again? Never!"

Nearly an hour later, Jay and Kim were lying naked in bed, enfolded in white blankets and sheets. Jay's right arm hugged Kim around the shoulders and held her close to him. They remained silent for a few seconds and just stared into each other's eyes. Kim finally broke the silence as she turned to her side.

"I got a message," she revealed, "from Tyler."

Alarmed, Jay sat up and asked, "What'd he say?"

"That he was looking for you."

"He say where he was?"

Kim shook her head and said, "No."

Jay sighed and lay back down on his back. Staring up at the stained white ceiling, he told Kim, "Carlton Fog set us up."

"What?!" Kim shouted. She'd known Carlton Fog to be a snake, but to betray his own son, he had to be the most worthless person there was.

"He knew about the Drexler Bombing in advance. Tyler didn't wanna believe it, but I'm pretty sure Carlton Fog's been in on this from the beginning."

"Tyler's father? That's – "

"Crazy. I know. I know," Jay replied. He closed his eyes and rubbed them. "I don't know if I can do this on my own."

Kim grabbed Jay's face and turned it to look at her. She got up close to him and laid down on his chest. "You don't have to," she told him as she began to caress his face. "That woman from the FBI came to see me today." Jay immediately sat up, brushing Kim's fingers aside. A shocked look came over his face. "Wait, Jay. She knows about Will! I think she believes there's more to this – that it's not your fault!"

Jay scratched his head vigorously and sat straight up. Turning his head, he asked, "Did you bring your camera like I asked?"

"Yeah." Kim turned over and put on Jay's green sweater. Unzipping the purse, she grabbed her camera, while Jay looked for his backpack.

"We found this stuff in Will's lock box," Jay said as he tossed out the contents of his backpack. He grabbed a tiny memory card that was locked in a plastic case and showed it to Kim.

While Jay shoved the memory card into Kim's digital camera, she picked up Will's fake passports. Opening one of them, she read the name off and said, "Wow, Will sure had us fooled."

Jay turned the camera on and tried to look at the contents of the memory card. Nothing showed up, though, but a black screen. "Damn," he muttered.

"What?"

"There aren't any pictures on this."

Kim took the camera from Jay and looked at it. "You're right, it doesn't have any pictures, but it does have an audio file." She navigated through the camera and played the audio file.

"There is one aspect of this that we haven't discussed, and that's your roommates. They will be framed for the bombing and they are expected to die in the blast," Jay and Kim listened to Joseph state.

"Oh my God," Kim mumbled. She looked up at Jay who looked as surprised as she did.

"Is that gonna be a problem for you?" the recording continued.

"No. Not at all," Will answered. Jay bit his lip angrily and shook his head.

"Good because there is no room for error, Will. The Drexler's just the first step in a much larger plan. Your country appreciates it."

It was enough to hear Joseph say he and Tyler were supposed to die in the Drexler, but Jay was caught off guard even more by the fact that the Drexler was only the first step. His jaw slackened and nearly dropped to the floor. Bug-eyed, he turned to Kim who was covering her mouth in awe.

New York FBI Field Office

"Thanks."

Borjes hung up the phone at his desk as he looked at the computer screen. Shown on the monitor was the escapee's profile. Borjes bit at one end of his pen as Marlow walked up to his desk.

"You think Burchell and Fog coming to New York has anything to do with our John Doe?" she asked him.

"Otis Whaley? Possible," Borjes said as he stood up. He and Marlow started walking as he continued, "I got NYPD watchin' the apartment where we found him. Still no hits on the BOLO."

As they strolled down the hallway, Marlow suddenly grabbed Borjes by the wrist and said, "Come here." Marlow opened a door to the viewing room of an interrogation room, which she and Borjes entered. Making sure no one could hear them, Marlow asked, "You tell anybody he was a Fed?"

"Not yet. I'm still waiting to see if any of our leads pan out, but I think Chambers oughta' know, don't you?" Borjes replied.

"Of course, it's just," she began apprehensively.

"What?"

"It's just that I think it might be a good idea to keep a lid on this for a while – pursue it on our own," Marlow recommended. "Call it an instinct – "

"An instinct? We're talking about defying procedure here!"

"We're talking about an ex-FBI agent who escaped from our custody and killed one of our people," Marlow interceded. "He's a subject of interest in the Drexler Bombing. What if this guy still has contacts inside the agency? The minute you send this up the chain of command…"

"Whaley and his contacts start covering their tracks," Borjes guessed. He scratched the bottom of his chin and sighed. He hated these kind of situations; people called them double-edged swords. They could either defy procedure, keeping Whaley sloppy; or follow the rules and possibly lose Whaley's tracks. Borjes crossed his arms across his chest and leaned back against the one-way mirror as Marlow knowingly stared at him.

Manhattan, NY

Jay, wearing a black sweatshirt, moved aside the curtains to look outside. Fortunately, the authorities hadn't discovered he was staying at the Dewey Motel. He turned to Kim and asked, "Why would Will keep a recording that implicates him in the Drexler Bombing… and in this much larger plan?"

"What does that even mean?" Kim wondered. To think the Drexler Bombing – something so horrible and dangerous – was only step one to a bigger plot terrified Kim. "More bombings?" she guessed.

"I don't know. Maybe," Jay replied. He scratched the top of his idea, hoping an idea would come to him. His eyes lit up brightly as he remembered what Kim said about Marlow. Grabbing a plastic bag from the dresser, he swept all of Will's belongings from the lock box into the bag.

"What are you doing?" Kim asked.

"Going to the FBI."

Happily laughing, Kim grabbed Jay's face kissed him on the forehead. "Yes, that is the right thing to do," she told him. Jay smiled back at her as he tied opened the memory card slot on Kim's camera. "They almost caught Tyler today. It is just a matter of time. Agent Marlow said that she could help protect you."

"Protect me?"

"She said if you turned yourself in – "

"No," Jay interrupted her. "Turning myself in is not exactly what I had in mind."

The jovial look on Kim's face sunk as she listened to Jay's words. Whatever Jay had planned, though, she was going to stick by him.

Brooklyn, NY

Carter's Ink was a small tattoo parlor in the Brooklyn borough. It was a simple, one-story building with a small waiting area and the deck where clients got inked. All around the shop were neon signs that made sure everyone knew this was a tattoo parlor. One of the walls was covered in sketches of tattoos people had gotten over the years Carter's Ink was in business. It was rather late at night now so no one was in the shop except for the owner, one employee, and a client he was working on. The topless woman laid on a bed on her chest as the tattoo-artists tattooed her back. She already had several tattoos pervading her body, such as a dragon wrapped around her left calf and a tribal symbol on her left shoulder.

The front door opened and in walked Will Traveler. He looked over at the cash register, where the owner, Carter, was sitting at. "Ed Carter?" Will asked.

Carter looked up from the tattoo he was designing and said, "That's me." Carter was a short, stocky man with a pair of sleeves – tattoos that covered his arms from shoulder to wrist. He had a military buzz cut and wore a black vest over a dark brown t-shirt.

"You work late," Will said as he unzipped his black jacket.

"You'd be surprised at the number of people who get drunk and decide they want a tattoo at one in the morning. I'm just happy to help 'em out," Carter replied. He saw Will pulling out a folded piece of paper from the inner pocket of his jacket. He figured Will was gonna show him a drawing of a tattoo he wanted, so he asked, "First tat?"

Instead of answering, Will unfolded the piece of paper and showed Carter the magnified picture of the trigger man's tattooed arm. "I'm told this is your work."

Carter examined the tattoo and frowned to himself. "You know, it is getting a little late," he said, refusing to respond.

"But you just said – "

"Thing is: my time's valuable," Carter snarled. He got up and started to leave as he told Will, "And you're not a paying customer."

Will reached inside his jacket one more time and whipped out the FBI badge he'd stolen from Watkins. He pushed the badge right into Carter's eyes, making his heartbeat race. Carter straightened up and smirked in defeat. "I know you're not lookin for a bribe, Ed."

Carter shook his head and sighed, "No. Not me." Smirking, Will handed him the picture and raised his eyebrows at him. Carter took a good look at the picture and gave up, "Yeah, I did those."

"On who?"

"Guy's called Martin."

"That a first name or a last name?"

"Don't know."

Will rolled his eyes and moved his head in a circular motion. Licking his lips, he asked, "When'd you do his tattoos?"

"Still doin' 'em," Carter answered. "Takes a while to do a sleeve that elaborate. There's only so much pain a guy can take. Then again, Martin's got a higher tolerance for pain than most."

Will looked passed Carter as he listened to him. The small TV beside the cash register was displaying the news, which showed mug shots of Jay and Tyler. Snapping back to reality, Will asked, "When'd you see him last?"

"About a week ago. He's in and out of town so it's takin' me a while to finish."

"You know where I can find him?" Will asked.

Carter leaned towards Will and said under his breath, "They say he stays there – the Hotel Regal."

"Thanks."

Will turned around and started for the door. Watching him, Carter waited for him to disappear down the street before he picked up a cellphone and dialed someone's number.

Queens, NY

Maya was back at her parents' home. They hadn't even noticed she'd left. She turned the lights on in the kitchen and picked up the silver telephone. With Marlow's business card in one hand, she dialed her cellphone number. The phone began to ring.

"Hi, Kim. Everything okay?" Marlow asked.

"I need to talk… in person," Kim said.

"I'm on my way," Marlow quickly replied.

Kim nodded triumphantly to herself and hung up the phone.

New York FBI Field Office

Borjes' eyes drifted up at Marlow as she walked passed him on her way to Kim's. He quickly jumped to his feet and followed Marlow across the room. "Whoa! Where you goin'?"

"Kim Doherty!" Marlow answered. "She's seen Jay, I know it."

"Well hold on. I'll roll with you."

"I don't wanna spook her. If it checks out, I'll call you in," Marlow replied as she pushed through the door.

Left behind once again, Borjes hung his head low and looked down at the tiled floor of the Field Office. It was getting tiresome to constantly be left back at the office while everyone else got to do something constructive.

"Borjes!" someone yelled from behind. Borjes turned around to see an Asian agent calling to him. "We've got three Tyler Fog sightings within a two block radius between 42nd Street and 8th Avenue all through the last five minutes!"

"Make that four," a female agent said as she passed a piece of paper to Borjes.

"Everybody, let's go!" Borjes shouted as he entered another room.

"Pull up live feeds of every traffic camera in the area!" Chambers commanded.

Chambers and Borjes entered a room enclosed by computers and monitors. The two agents walked up to a wall of monitors playing the live feeds Chambers had called for. Some screens showed cars driving through traffic while others displayed pedestrians walking up and down the streets. Chambers' eyes followed one of the monitors. It showed Tyler Fog walking down a street with his right arm around the bartender's shoulders.

"There!" Chambers pointed out. "Who is that girl? Get me a visual ID cross-check with the DMV. I want her name, I wanna know where she lives – everything about her!"

The monitors around the one showing Tyler all transformed to show a magnified video of Tyler and the bartender. The computer in front of the wall of monitors displayed a zoomed-in image of the bartender's face as the Korean agent searched for her identity.

"Where are they?" Chambers asked.

"Forty-third and 7th, heading south," the agent answered.

"Alright, I want all available agents on the scene, and notify all local police units in the area now." Chambers glanced back at the monitor and stared at Tyler's face. To himself, he said, "We got him."

Thirty seconds later, the monitor was still showing Tyler and the bartender taking a stroll through Times Square. Chambers' face was turning red; he was noticeably angry that no police or FBI agents had shown up at the scene yet.

"Forty-seventh and 2nd heading east," Borjes noted.

"Times Square – where are all the damn cops?!" Chambers wondered.

"All units in the area have been notified, sir. It should be any second now," the Korean agent replied.

"They're not goin' anywhere," Borjes confidently said. "It's a live feed, right?"

"There is a thirty second streaming delay."

Borjes and Chambers had thought it was a live feed the entire time. They looked up at one another and traded somewhat concerned glances. Looking at the monitor again, they watched as Tyler jokingly dragged the bartender down the stairs to the subway.

"Notify transit police! Suspend all subway service out of Times Square!" Chambers ordered.

"Almost every line in the city goes through there. With a thirty second lead…"

"Fog could be anywhere in the city by now," Chambers finished. Turning around, he angrily shook his head and cursed, "Damn it!"

Queens, NY

A knocking at her front door notified Kim that Agent Marlow had arrived. She crossed the living room and opened the front door. "Agent Marlow," she muttered.

"Should we talk inside?" Marlow asked, holding onto the door frame.

Kim stopped her from stepping into her parents' house and said, "Actually – uh – no, I can't talk. I have to get going. I tried to call."

"I didn't get a message," Marlow replied.

"Sorry." Kim immediately closed the door. Marlow didn't even have time to react as the front door slammed on her face. Through the oval-shaped glass on the door she could see Kim speedily walking towards the kitchen.

Manhattan, NY

While the bartender, whose name was Liz, fumbled with her keys to open the door to her apartment, Tyler grasped her waist and nibbled at her neck. She managed to open the door and grab Tyler's face at the same time. She began to kiss him on the lips as he pushed the door open. The two staggered into the apartment as they were still making out. Liz kicked the door behind her so it would close while Tyler dragged her across the foyer.

"Sorry," Tyler garbled as he kicked over a trash can. His words were muffled, though as his lips were still locked around Liz's.

She giggled and started kissing Tyler's neck as Tyler tossed his black jacket to the floor. Tyler grabbed Liz by her face and kissed her while she unzipped the gray hoodie he had on underneath the jacket. Once she got the hoodie off, she pushed Tyler's body onto her bed. Giggling, she jumped on top of him and continued wrapping her lips around his.

New York FBI Field Office

Chambers and Borjes were still monitoring the video feeds while the other agents around the room scrambled to figure out where Tyler was going. Chambers looked at a video of Tyler and Liz passing by the subway and instructed the Korean agent, "Stop. Push in."

The agent zoomed in on the image again. Chambers stared at the girl's face and asked, "Got a name on this girl yet?"

"So far no matches with the DMV," the agent answered.

Chambers angrily sighed and exited the room. Borjes chased him outside and asked, "Sir, doesn't it strike you as odd?"

"What?" Chambers asked, pausing for Borjes to catch up.

"Doesn't it strike you as odd that in the middle of all this, Tyler Fog is on a date?" Borjes questioned.

Chambers shrugged and prepared to answer. However, a man in a navy blue suit appeared to his left and said, "We need to talk."

Chambers glanced at Borjes then turned to the man. "Certainly," he said as he followed the man into his own office.

Borjes walked back into the computer room and directed his agents, "Bring it back up. Maybe we missed something."

"Who was that?" the Korean agent asked Borjes.

"Robert Cole, head of OPR, handles employee misconduct," Borjes answered.

"I thought Cole was out of DC."

Borjes turned around to look through the window at Chambers' office. He was seated on the edge of his desk as Cole spoke to him about something. They seemed quite calm for two people discussing misconduct.

"What's he doing here?" the Korean agent wondered.

"I don't know." Borjes looked down at the agent's desk and saw Otis Whaley's mug shot. He wondered if Cole was there about Whaley.

Brooklyn, NY

The Hotel Regal was anything but; it was a drab, shabby-looking hotel that stood five floors. The large marquee protruding from the front of the hotel read 'Hotel Regal' in bright, neon red lights. Under the marquee, the front door opened and a man with somewhat long, dark brown hair and hazel eyes walked out. The man wore nothing but a black tank top and blue jeans. As he strode down the street, the man, Martin, slipped his arms through a black jacket and adjusted the collar.

Across the street, Will Traveler stared at the man's arms; there was an incomplete sleeve on his left arm matching the tattoos on the picture. Attentively observing Martin, Will looked down both sides of the street and headed across.

Manhattan, NY

Tyler was standing at the edge of Liz's bed, putting his jeans on. He picked his white t-shirt up off the floor while Liz quietly slept naked on her bed. Tyler solemnly looked at her before turning around and leaving her room. He shut the double doors leading to her bedroom and searched for the rest of his clothes. The gray hoodie was on the floor right back the bedroom and his black jacket was in front of the front door. As he picked up the jacket, his eyes caught the sight of a newspaper sitting on Liz's coffee table.

Walking over to it, Tyler saw his and Jay's photograph on the front page with the title 'Drexler Bombers' under it. The photograph was an old one taken about one year ago. Tyler had his arm slung around Jay's shoulder while Jay flashed a grin at the camera. Tyler couldn't remember the last time he smiled like that. He and Jay looked so kind and peaceful; it was hard to think anyone could call them terrorists.

Tyler picked the newspaper up and unfolded it. At the bottom of the front page was a smaller picture of Carlton Fog. Beside it, in red, were Fog's own words: "I just wanted to help my son."

Tyler scoffed at the quote as he remembered speaking to his father earlier in the day. "Just tell me, Dad, that you didn't try to have us killed."

"This is the real world, Tyler," Tyler remembered hearing. "And there are choices that have to be made, and some of those choices are bigger than you."

Tyler dropped the newspaper back on the coffee table and looked around the room. He found a computer sitting at a small table in the corner. The computer was already turned on, so all Tyler had to do was double-click on the icon of an orange fox swirled around the Earth. The 'Google' webpage popped up and Tyler typed in 'Carlton Fog'. Thousands of search results popped up with Carlton Fog's name bolded in them. Tyler clicked on the first one and started to read it.

Queens, NY

Marlow sat outside in a black sedan with another FBI agent beside her. A yellow cab drove by their car and parked in front of Kim's house. She picked up her radio and said into it, "This is Marlow. I'm on this one. Watch the house."

"Roger that," an agent replied.

Running down the steps of her porch, Kim hopped inside the cab. It took off as Marlow went into 'Drive' and followed after her.

Brooklyn, NY

Martin's heavy, black boots splashed across the dark, damp alleyway. Tiny pellets of rain dropped around him as he walked down the alley. Behind, Will peeked at him through a corner. Quickly, he ran across the alley and around the building. Martin heard soft footsteps coming from behind and turned around. However, there was no one there. Humming to himself, Martin continued down the alley. Suddenly, Will popped out of the corner and grabbed Martin by the collar of his jacket.

With all his strength, Will tossed Martin over his shoulder and dropped him on the ground. Martin's body fell into a puddle, splashing muddy water around the two. He quickly rolled away and hopped to his feet though. Raising his fists up to fight, he taunted Will.

"C'mon!"

Martin was about to throw a kick, but Will kicked his leg back to the ground then attacked his chest, knocking him back into a metal garage door. Martin chuckled at the sneak attack and prepared to fight Will. Will threw a punch at Martin's chest, but Martin blocked and hooked Will right in the side. It didn't seem to faze Will, though, as he fought back. Unfortunately, Martin caught his right arm and held it in an arm lock while he jabbed Will in the face. He went for another hit, but Will got out of the hold and uppercut Martin. His head flew up as Will punched him in the gut. Martin tried to throw a punch, but Will caught his fist and tried to twist it. Pulling away, Martin got out of Will's grasp and grabbed him by the neck and armpit.

Martin slammed Will's body against the garage door twice then brought him down. Swinging his knee upwards, Martin caught Will in the gut several times before throwing him against the door again. Grunting, Will fought back and punched Martin across the face. Martin threw a right hook at Will's side, but Will blocked with his palm and pushed his opponent's arm away. He punched Martin in the face again then grabbed him by the collar and threw him against the metal door. Martin jabbed at Will's head one more time, but Will sidestepped. He grabbed Martin by the shoulder and kicked him directly in the right kneecap. Martin's knee gave way and he fell to the ground.

Moaning in agony, he grabbed at his shattered knee. Blood coming out his nose and leaking out his mouth, Martin grunted and groaned as his body rocked back and forth. Standing over him, Will pulled the USP .45 from his holster and crouched down in front of Martin. Martin held his hands up in defense and whimpered as Will clutched his collar and pointed the gun at his neck.

"You killed her," Will told Martin with deep, red blood coming through his white teeth.

"Who?!" Martin asked.

"Maya."

"I don't know who you're talkin' about," Martin replied shakily.

"That's the worst part."

Martin looked up at Will and realized who he was – a soldier hired to do their superiors' bidding just like him. "Hometown," he mumbled. "Then you know I was followin' orders!"

"Who gave the order?" Will wanted to know. Martin looked away from him and started to chuckle painfully. Will throttled him and demanded, "I said, who gave the order?!" He grabbed Martin's hair and pulled it so he'd look him in the eye. "Who are we working for?!"

"F-Freed!" Martin grunted. "Freed gives all the orders. Look, Hometown's been shut down for two years! Freed used us for his own agenda! You don't want me. Huh? Go after Freed. You got somethin' he wants. Please."

Will let go of Martin, letting his head bang against the concrete ground. He pulled his gun away from Martin's neck too as he stood up and walked away. Sitting up on his elbow, Martin called, "You made the right decision! Your girl, Mary, would've appreciated that!"

At the sound of the name, Mary, Will stopped. His finger twitched and he started to slowly turn around. It was one thing to not even know her name, but to forget it so easily and that quickly, Will figured it was unforgivable. Raising the USP, Will pulled the trigger. Forced by the pull of the trigger, a bullet discharged itself from the USP's chamber and headed towards Martin's head. It flew through the air and tore through flesh and bone as it made contact with Martin. Still alive, he felt the coldness of the bullet turn warm just as it entered his brain and penetrated it. Red liquid flung out the exit wound as Martin's head collapsed into a puddle of blood and rain water.

Lowering the gun, Will austerely stared at Martin's corpse and sullenly said, "Her name was Maya." He looked back at Martin's dead body for a second then turned away and headed down the alley.

New York FBI Field Office

The door to Chambers' office opened and Robert Cole walked out. He and Chambers shook hands one last time before Cole headed towards the exit. At his desk, Borjes walked Cole as he left.

"Borjes!" Chambers called. "My office."

Borjes looked at him with a surprised look. Surely, Cole couldn't have been there to talk to Chambers about him. Setting his coffee on the table, he walked over to Chambers' office.

"Why didn't you tell me you sought an increased security clearance to investigate our escapee?" Chambers asked once Borjes entered the room.

"Sir, I – "

"And when that failed, you received covert assistance from an NSA agent, Harold Stone?" Chambers continued.

"Agent Fowler was a friend, sir. His death – I took it personally, and I took it upon myself to find out whatever I could to find the man who killed him. I'm sorry I strayed from procedure, but – "

"No apologies necessary," Chambers interrupted him again.

Borjes was taken aback by Chambers' willingness to accept Borjes' defiance. He looked at Chambers with a questioning look and murmured, "Sir?"

"NSA? Very resourceful," Chambers said. "I'm impressed. Still this guy – what's his name – Whaley?"

"Otis Whaley."

Chambers nodded and continued, "I know Agent Stone told you Whaley's ex-FBI. What I don't know is why you went to Stone at all. I could've gotten you that information without alerting OPR."

"I'm sorry, sir, but with Burchell and Fog in the city – "

"Borjes!" Chambers sternly said. "Unlike your partner, you've got an immaculate record. Don't ruin it. Agent Marlow's made it clear she wants my job. You're former military, you respect the chain of command. Correct?"

"Yes, sir," Borjes sighed.

"Good. I want a full report on Whaley by morning." Chambers sat down on the blue revolving chair behind his desk.

"Will do," Borjes said as he turned and left Chambers' office.

Manhattan, NY

Tyler was still in Liz's apartment looking through all the search results on his father. In the last half hour, he'd probably already gone through over a dozen search results already. He clicked on another one and a news article on Carlton Fog popped up. At the top of the webpage was a photograph taken of Tyler's father and the blonde man from DC. Tyler remembered seeing him earlier in the day and wondered who he was.

"Carlton Fog with Homeland Security's Jack Freed," Tyler read. The name struck his as familiar. He kept repeating it to himself in hopes of remembering where he'd heard it. Suddenly, he remembered seeing it on the list of benefactors from the Drexler Bombing. He pulled the list out from his pocket and sifted through the names printed on it. Halfway down the list was the name Jack Freed with the word 'Sell' next to it. Turning back to the computer, he read on, "Homeland Security's Jack Freed. Former Deputy Director, FBI."

A tiny smile, a proud smile, formed on Tyler's face as he printed out the webpage. He watched as the printer beside him started to rumble to life.

Club Fervor

The taxicab Kim was riding it stopped in front of a night club in Manhattan. Kim paid the driver and exited the cab. Down the street, Marlow parked the car by the sidewalk and stepped out. She followed Kim as Kim bypassed the waiting line and entered the club called Fervor. At the club entrance, Kim handed the bouncer a couple rolled up bills for him to let her through. He nodded and opened the door for her. The people in line became restless and started shouting, but it didn't bother the bouncer one bit. Marlow appeared up next and flashed her badge to the bouncer.

Inside, the club was rather dark and filled with neon lights. The dance floor was filled to the brim with men and women provocatively dancing while the bright spotlights flashed down at them. Along the walls, Kim walked around. She knew Marlow was behind her, but that was part of the plan. As she passed by a man carrying several drinks, she turned to look at Marlow a few feet back.

Pursuing Kim through the club, Marlow looked passed the people dancing around her. Kim walked down a dark hallway and disappeared around the corner. Marlow was about to track her down, but Jay appeared behind her and interrupted her pursuit.

"Agent Marlow!" he shouted over the din of music. In his hand was the handgun he and Tyler found in Will's lock box.

Marlow turned around and faced Jay. He had a determined look on his face as he trained the gun on her at his waist. Marlow lightly chuckled; she had been duped.

"I don't wanna hurt you," Jay said. "I just wanna talk!"

"I'm listening," Marlow replied.

"We didn't have anything to do with the Drexler Bombing. We were set up, and I have proof!"

Using Liz's telephone, Tyler made a call to Kim. As Kim exited the club, she heard her phone ringing in her purse. She grabbed it and put it to her ear. Upon hearing Kim's voice, Tyler quickly said, "Kim!"

"Wait. You're breaking up. I'll call you back," Kim faked. She hung her cellphone up quickly and ran across the street to a payphone. Sticking several quarters in it, she called back Tyler. "Are you crazy? My phone's tapped!"

"Wait, Kim, listen to me! There's this guy – Jack Freed. He's FBI, he used to Deputy Director for God's sake. Okay. Now, I think-I know he's messed up in this!" Tyler stated.

"What?"

"He's on a list of people who sold Holloway stock the day before the Drexler."

"Tyler…"

"Listen, my father is working with the FBI trying to have us killed. Now, before I took off, Jay said he was gonna to the FBI. Now, you can't let him do that!" Tyler told Kim.

"No. It's too late!" Kim replied, starting to get a bit worried.

"What are you talking about?"

"He's already meeting with Agent Marlow at Club Fervor," Kim informed him. She put her hand to her forehead and blinked her eyes repeatedly.

"On 14th?"

"Yeah. Yeah."

"Okay, I'm going there," Tyler said before hanging up. He turned around to grab his hoodie and jacket, but instead found Liz staring right at him.

"Oh my God," she murmured. A stunned expression came over her face as she finally figured out who Tyler was. His face was printed on the newspaper sitting on her coffee table. "It is you…"

Tyler brushed passed her and grabbed his clothes. He put on the gray hoodie and carried the black jacket as he opened the door. Keeping his eyes on Liz, Tyler walked out the apartment. "Sorry," he whispered before shutting the door.

Club Fervor

"Looks like you got it all figured out. I gotta hand it to ya; Burchell, not a bad place to meet – loud, dark. You lured me here; you and your girlfriend make a good team," Marlow applauded.

"Kim had nothin' to do with this!" Jay told Marlow as he slapped the list of sellers along with Will's collection of passports on the table between him and Marlow. "It was my idea."

Marlow reached forward for the papers and passports and looked them over. She skimmed over the list and wondered, "What's this?"

"Names of people who sold Holloway Insurance – people who benefited from the Drexler Bombing!" Jay answered, "And a few of Will Traveler's fake passports."

Opening one of the passports, Marlow looked at the name and the picture. Slightly impressed, she chuckled for a second. "I see," she said.

Elsewhere in the club, Kim had made her way back in. She tried to push through the growing crowd of club-goers, but it was like swimming upriver.

"That's nothin'," Jay replied, though. In his fingers, Jay held up the memory card enclosed in a plastic case. "This is a recording of a man named Joseph telling Will to blow up the Drexler, saying he should frame Tyler and me for doing it, and that the Drexler is just the first step in a much larger plan!"

"It's all very interesting, Jay," Marlow stated. She picked up the memory card then put it back down. "This could exonerate you." Marlow noticed Jay starting to lower his guard. He was beginning to feel comfortable, but unfortunately for him, Marlow still had orders. Once she saw him bring his gun down, she reached for it and twisted it out of his hand. Tossing it against the wall, she withdrew her own 9 mm and shouted, "Turn around and place your hands on your head!"

On the opposite side the dance floor, Kim was standing beside the electric box. From there, she watched Jay and Marlow's exchange. Worry took over her as she watched Marlow turn the tables on her boyfriend. Quickly, she unzipped her boot and reached for something hidden inside.

"Look, I told you we've been set up!" Jay claimed, raising his hands in front of him. "Just listen to that recording!"

"Unfortunately this about more than just the Drexler now!" Marlow said as Jay turned around. "You're suspected of murder, not to mention the kidnapping of Tyler's business school friend, Eddie Hahn!"

Across the room, Kim stabbed something into the electric box. In less than a second, the entire club died. The lights turned off, the music died down, and everything and everyone was entrapped in shadows. People all around the club began to panic and question what was happening.

"Jay, don't move!" Marlow ordered as soon as the lights blacked out.

The emergency generator kicked in a few seconds later as a man instructed, "Everybody, stay calm!"

Nevertheless, everyone in the club lost their nerves and rush for the door. Like stampeding bulls, they all headed for the nearest exits. Marlow kept her gun trained on Jay, but a woman running by knocked the gun out of her hands. The next thing she saw was Jay running away from her, melding into the panicking clubbers.

Outside Fervor, Tyler appeared at the entrance and looked on as everyone rushed out. He turned around and saw a pair of cops coming towards the club. So as to hide his identity, he looked away and kept his back to them. The cops' radios came to life with the sound of an operator's voice.

"Ten-thirteen. Suspect Jay Burchell has been spotted at Club Fervor. I repeat: suspect Jay Burchell has been spotted at Club Fervor."

Tyler's eyes went wide and he charged into the club as rain started to fall over him. Shoving aside anyone that got in his way, he headed inside. The two police men pushed their way in as well, shining their flashlights around the shadowed building. Inside the club, there were still several people running about. Tyler stood in the center of the dance floor, looking around any sign of Jay. No one in the club looked anything like Jay; they were either too skinny or too fat, or too tall or too short. Tyler's heart began to race as he spun in circles searching for his friend. He looked over at one of the exits to see one of the two cops heading out into the back of the club by himself.

In the alley behind the club, Jay ran out through the back exit. He started down one end of the alley, but a police car came to a screeching halt right in front of him. Coming to a startled stop, he turned around and headed up the other end as another patrol car drove passed behind him. Although Jay was fast and his legs carry him, he was forced to stop as he heard the click of a gun behind him.

"Freeze!" Marlow barked as she appeared out from the club. "Put your hands where I can see them!"

Heavily breathing, Jay raised his arms in the air and morosely turned around. Marlow kept her gun pointed at Jay, but her eyes widened and an astounded look crossed her face as she saw Tyler dragging a cop out from Club Fervor. It was the young rookie that had gone into the club with his partner. Tyler had him in his grasp with his own gun pointed at the bottom of his head.

"You drop the gun!" Tyler ordered Marlow.

His hands still in the air, Jay turned around to Tyler. He had never been happier in his life to see him. However, he was a bit confused as to how Tyler got into this situation.

Tyler glared at Marlow and pressed his gun against the cop's neck. "I said, drop your gun!"

"Tyler!" Jay yelled to him.

"C'mon, Tyler, let this man go and surrender peacefully! We can straighten this out!" Marlow said.

"Jay, she's lying! They're in on this!" Tyler retorted.

"What are you talkin' about?" Jay asked, obviously clueless.

"Jay, you have ton believe me. The FBI's involved! I have proof!" Tyler told him. Looking over at Marlow, he saw her grimace at him. "See! She knows!"

"Jay, what I know is that you were telling the truth about Will Traveler. We've got him on video! I know you were telling the truth about Will and I think you might be telling the truth about the Drexler! Now with the evidence you showed me tonight – "

"Jay, you don't believe her! Jay, you have to trust me!" Tyler shouted. He then turned to Marlow and demanded, "Now, you do what I say and you drop the gun!" as he shoved the barrel of his gun at the policeman's neck. A frightened expression appeared on the cop's face as Tyler unsteadily held the gun against him.

Holding Jay at gunpoint, Marlow countered, "C'mon, Tyler, you're not going to shoot anyone!"

From the side, behind a large green dumpster, a black handgun appeared positioned at Marlow's head. Will showed himself to Marlow and his two friends – if he could still call them that, that is – and said, "No, but I will!"

Marlow snapped her head to the left and gazed at Will. She stared into the black hole that was barrel of his gun and sighed. Will kept his gun trained on her as he glanced over at Jay and Tyler. Speechless expressions pervaded their faces as they stared back at the friend they had lost, who had betrayed them. They could practically hear Will's disconsolate goodbye before hearing the sound of the erupting museum that launched them on this grim journey.


	8. Chapter 8: The Exchange

**Chapter 8: The Exchange**

The smell of home baked lasagna wafted throughout the castle, as Jay, Tyler, and Will called it. The boys and Kim had been cooking all day, getting ready for their celebratory dinner commemorating their graduation from grad school. Already set on the dining table was corn bread Jay and Kim made, macaroni salad Tyler learned to make from his grandmother, some steaks, mixed stir-fried vegetables, and a kind of hearty meat and potatoes stew Jay, Tyler, and Will had slaved over this morning. The only things left to wait on were the lasagna and the desert.

Upstairs in his room were Jay and Kim. Kim sat cross-legged at the head of Jay's bed while Jay put on a pair of black dress socks. She hugged one of Jay's pillows as she watched him get dressed.

Jay put on his right sock and started lacing up his shoe on his left foot. Sighing, he muttered, "I'm gonna miss this place."

"Well, we're gonna have our own place now. We can make even better memories there," Kim said, slithering over to Jay.

"Yeah, but the guys won't be there."

"I'll be there," Kim replied, wrapping her arms around Jay's chest.

"Yeah, but… it's the guys," Jay said.

Giggling at Jay's childishness, Kim kissed him on the cheek and told him, "Don't even go there! There's no way I'm sharing an apartment with Will and Tyler!"

"I didn't say that!" Jay retorted, looking back at Kim.

"You didn't have to! I could tell," Kim said, chuckling.

Jay laughed at her and nodded. "We're still having guys-night-out, though," he murmured under his breath.

Kim still heard, though, and slapped him softly with a pillow. Jay chuckled and grabbed Kim by the waist, tickling her. Her laughs filled the room as she fell on her back and Jay fell with her. Kissing her on the lips, Jay held her tightly in his arms.

Driving down the street in front of the castle, Will contemplated what was to happen in three days. It was his mission, his duty, but still, something about it seemed wrong. Maybe it was the fact that Will had formed a true bond with the two, or maybe it was because he was being forced to blow up a museum with innocent people still inside it. Whatever the reason, Will didn't feel right completing his mission.

"Will? Hey, Will?" Tyler said beside him. Tyler was in the passenger seat, waving his hand at Will's face. He was wearing a dark gray sweater vest over a light purple dress shirt with a pair of khakis. Will, on the other hand, sported a blue and black pinstriped shirt and denim jeans.

Lost in his mind, Will had completely zoned Tyler out. Shaking himself back to reality, Will turned and replied, "Yeah?"

"When we go our separate ways, you 'bout to get your own apartment in – where was it – Phoenix?" Tyler asked as Will drove into the driveway.

"Oh – uh – yeah, I think so," Will answered as he put the car in 'Park'. "Probably. What about you?"

"Yup. Already got a sweet apartment lined up on the Upper East Side courtesy of my wonderful father," Tyler said semi-sarcastic.

Will chuckled and unlocked all the doors. He stepped out the SUV and opened the door to the back seat. Sitting on the back seat were two cakes in separate plastic bags. Will and Tyler had been assigned by Kim to go to the bakery a few miles away and pick them up. They each picked up a bag and carefully carried the cakes up to the front porch.

Cradling the cake with one arm, Will stuck his key into the door and unlocked it. He kicked the door open and shouted, "We're home!"

Jay and Kim came running down the stairs with smiles on their faces. Jay wore a light green dress shirt and blue jeans, while Kim's outfit consisted of a white blouse over a black tank top and white pants. "Ahh! Finally! I was getting hungry," Jay said as he helped Will carry the cake into the dining room.

"What's up with the lasagna? Is it done?" Will asked.

"Yeah, I'll get it out of the oven," Kim offered. Wearing an over mitt, she opened the oven and reached in for the lasagna. It smelled delicious as steam floated out of it. Kim set the heavy, iron baking sheet on the kitchen counter.

Tyler opened up one of the cabinets and handed Kim a large plate. Using a large knife and a spatula, Kim cut around the edges of the baking sheet, separating the lasagna from it. With the help of the spatula, she helped scoop the gooey lasagna onto the white plate. Jay took the heavy plate from her and brought it over to the dining table. Surrounding the dining table, Jay, Tyler, and Kim waited for Will to come back.

After washing his hands at the kitchen sink, Will grabbed a towel to wipe his hands with. As he wiped his hands, he stared back at his faint reflection in the window.

"They will be framed for the bombing," Will heard Joseph telling him, "and they are expected to die in the blast."

Frozen, Will looked blankly at his hands. He finished wiping the water off them and hung the white cloth on the arm of the oven. Giving off a sullen sigh, he walked back to the dining table. He gathered around the table with his friends and put his arms around Jay and Tyler. They both smiled back at him, knowing they'd be friends forever. Will did all he could to stop his emotions from coming through the surface. They were piercing him right now, but he struggled against them. Disguising it with a blissful façade, he rubbed his two friends' shoulders and pulled them closer.

"Alright! Dinner's ready!" Jay announced. He let go of Kim and was about to pull the chair back for her when Will interceded."

"Hold on," Will began. "Before we eat, I just wanted to say a few words."

Tyler shrugged and said, "Go for it, man!"

Nodding, Will licked his lips and cleared his throat. "I just wanted to say you guys are the greatest friends a guy could ask for. You've been my only two friends in this lifetime," Will said in a hoarse tone. "I'll-I'll miss you guys when you're gone…"

Tyler and Jay smiled at Will and nodded in agreement. Jay patted Will on the back as Tyler picked up his bottle of beer. Lifting the dark brown bottle above his head, Tyler announced, "I propose a toast!" His friends laughed at him, but raised their beer bottles up nonetheless. "To chicks, booze, and long-lasting friendships!"

All his friends exploded with laughter as they recited in unison, "Cheers!"

Manhattan, NY – 7 Days Later

Rain fell over the alleyway where a tense confrontation was occurring. Jay lowered his arms to his sides as he saw Will appear from behind a dumpster. Emotions of anger, hate, and distrust wallowed within Jay's stomach as he watched his former friend point a gun at Agent Marlow. He glared at Will and cursed him.

"Will, you son of a bitch!" he shouted.

"Shut up, Jay! I'm here to help you!" Will told him.

"Then turn yourself in!" Jay yelled back. Pointing Will out to Marlow, he told her, "This is the guy that bombed the Drexler!"

With her gun still pointed at Jay, Marlow said to Will, "Your friends are counting on you to do the right thing, Traveler."

"He's not our friend!" Tyler interjected, his arm still clutching the policeman's head.

Noticing Tyler had dropped his gun, Will instructed, "Tyler, keep your gun on him!" Although he didn't trust Will, Tyler figured he knew what he was doing. He raised the gun back up and kept it pressed against the cop's chest. Will turned to Marlow and said, "You, put your gun on the ground!"

"NYPD has this area surrounded!" Marlow replied.

A gunshot rang off behind her; the bullet slammed into the alley wall beside the green dumpster. "Put your gun on the ground and kick it over to Jay!" Will ordered. "Do it now!" Marlow set the gun on the ground and slid it across to Jay. "Grab the gun! Let's go!"

Jay picked the gun up, but he refused to follow Will. Raising the gun at him, Jay shouted back, "We're not comin' with you."

Confused, Will looked up at Jay then to Tyler. Jay seemed determined to stay away from Will, but Tyler appeared somewhat puzzled by the turn of events. Waving the gun at Marlow, Will said to Jay, "She tried to arrest you tonight, Jay."

"Jay, if you all come in together, this'll be a different story," Marlow chimed, her arms raised in the air.

"The FBI is a part of this, Jay!"

Unsure of what to do, Jay shakily pointed the gun at Will. He turned to look at Tyler, who shook his head at Jay and said, "He's right. They're involved."

"No…" Marlow mumbled, shaking her head.

"You want your life back, you want some answers? Then come with me!" Will urged.

Jay's arm started to tremble as he thought through his options. Biting his teeth together, Jay angrily dropped the gun from Will's chest. Marlow looked at him and said, "You're making a mistake!"

"Don't move," Will directed Marlow as he began to pat her down. She had no other weapons that Will could feel so he shoved her forward and said, "Up against the wall! Grab the fence!" Marlow turned towards the rigid fence and grabbed it. She watched Will as the young man pointed his gun at the police officer and pushed him over to the fence beside her. "You too! Grab the fence!" Then, turning to Jay and Tyler, he shouted, "Go! Get outta here! Go! Go!"

Jay and Tyler started sprinting down the alley as Will stayed behind with his gun trained on Marlow and the police officer. He slowly eased backwards down the alley until Marlow bent over and grabbed the gun in her ankle holster. Will hurried away and sprinted down the alley. Marlow aimed her gun at him and opened fire as he turned the corner. She followed him down the alley and trained her gun forward. Disappointingly, the three boys had disappeared and Marlow was aiming at nothing.

"Damn it," she muttered. Holstering her gun, she turned and exited the alleyway. Out front, there were still several people scattered around from the club. Marlow headed to her car and opened the passenger side door. Leaning in, she pulled the radio out and said, "This is Agent Marlow. Suspects Burchell, Fog, and Traveler last seen on East 16th Street. All three are armed!"

A black SUV pulled up to the curb and parked there with its siren blaring. Chambers and Borjes came out from inside the car and ran over to Marlow. An irritated expression on his face, Chambers asked, "What's their lead?"

"Five minutes. Traveler's with them," Marlow informed him. Chambers scowled at her and shook his head in annoyance.

Will, Jay, and Tyler walked underneath the eves of a string of stores lining a street. One of the banners above them was written in red Chinese letters. Jay hid the gun he'd gotten from Marlow down the front of his pants as they hastily walked down the empty street. On the other side of Will, Tyler listened to the radio he'd stolen from the cop.

"Suspects last seen east on 16th," the operator said. Will snatched the radio from Tyler and put it up to his ear. "SA Marlow requests all units establish a ten-block radius."

Will handed the radio back to Tyler as he said, "They think we're headed east."

"Yeah, well, we gotta get off the island before they close the city!" Tyler replied.

"Just keep moving," Will commanded.

Outside Club Fervor, Chambers watched as a duo of FBI agents escorted Kim Doherty out the building in handcuffs. One of the men opened the door and shoved her into the back seat.

"We got a tip! Doorman spotted three guys matching our suspects' description coming out of a building on 18th," Borjes informed Chambers and Marlow. Marlow started to follow Borjes until Chambers stopped her.

"Don't even think about it, Marlow!" he growled.

"Sir?" Marlow asked, perplexed.

"You've continually compromised this investigation. Tonight was no different! You're off the case!"

Marlow frowned at Chambers and yelled, "Burchell had evidence regarding the case – about the Drexler, about people that knew – "

"What evidence?" Chambers interrupted.

"A recording of Will Traveler getting orders to bomb the museum," Marlow pleaded for Chambers to listen.

"And where is this recording?"

"Burchell took it with him!"

Chambers glowered at Marlow and pointed his index finger at him. "Get back to the Field Office! All I wanna see from you today is a report!"

Angered that she was pulled from the case, Marlow snapped back, "That's bull!"

"Alright, Marlow!" Chambers shouted.

Borjes stepped in between the two and tried to calm down Marlow. "Hey," he whispered to her. "Calm down."

"Keep pushing it and you'll be out of a job!" Chambers threatened. Marlow sighed and glared at Chambers as he turned to Borjes and said, "Borjes, you're on point now."

Borjes watched as Chambers left the scene. It was good he finally got a promotion, but he didn't want things to turn out this way for Marlow. After all, she was his friend and loyal partner. There was nothing he could do, though. He sighed and turned to Marlow. He shook her head at her as he turned and left.

Standing outside a tiny Chinese mini mart, Jay and Tyler stood guard while Will tried to break into the building. Jay held up a flashlight to the sliding glass door as Will used a power drill to pick the lock. In a matter of seconds, he managed to unlock the door and forcefully slid it open. The alarm immediately went off, startling Jay and Tyler. Tyler looked like he was about to turn and run, but he followed Jay and Will into the building.

Using Jay's flashlight for guidance, Will found his way to the security box on the side of the store. With the power drill he picked up from Jimmy, Will opened the box up and pulled the red wire loose. The blaring alarm stopped right away.

"There's no phone line. The alarm can't dial out," Will said, quelling Jay and Tyler's fears.

Will started across the store after he took Jay's flashlight away from him. He turned it off so no one would see the light from outside. Walking over to a section of the store, he started searching for some items. "C'mon," he called to Jay and Tyler.

"Who are you?" Jay demanded to know. Will shook his head and continued looking for the items in his mind. "Answer the question! Who the hell are you?!"

"Right now I'm your chance to make things right," Will answered.

"Why?" Tyler asked. "Why, Will? Why'd you do this to us?"

Declining to answer back, Will grabbed some packets of napkins and a bottle of superglue. Furiously, Jay screamed, "Hey! You used us – "

"I came to help you get your lives back!" Will snapped as he grabbed a bottle of antiseptic from the rack. Setting down all the items he scavenged on the counter, he said to Jay, "Trust me, don't trust me – I don't really care!"

Jay shook his head and suddenly threw a left hook at Will's gut. Will grunted as Jay grabbed him and reeled back for a right jab. Will blocked the punch with his forearm then grabbed Jay's left arm as he threw another punch. Jay tried to yank his arm away from Will's grasp, but Will held on too tightly. In retaliation, Jay punched Will in the gut twice. Will's body staggered forward and Jay punched him across the face. Will fell back against a box of items, but Jay immediately grabbed him by the collar and tossed his back against the rack of items. Several of the things behind Will crashed to the ground as Jay began throwing punch after punch at his mid-area. Having had enough of this, Will shoved Jay back and pulled the USP out from its holster. He cocked the gun back just as Jay reeled back for another punch.

"Whoa! Whoa! Will, put the gun down. You hear me?" Tyler interceded.

"He's not gonna shoot me," Jay told Tyler. "Are you, Will? Not until you get what it is you came back for? Pull the trigger if I'm wrong."

Will looked away from Jay and lowered the gun. He began to holster it as Tyler noticed blood dripping from Jay's hand. "Jay, you're bleeding," he alarmed him.

Jay looked at his hand and saw the red blood covering it. He looked around his body for any cuts, but there was nothing. "It's not my blood."

Leaning against the wall, Will gritted his bloody teeth and clutched his side. Blood was leaking out an open bullet wound on his left hip. Will moved his hand away from it; the sticky blood oozed off his hand as he stared down at it.

Minutes later, after things had calmed down, the three boys were sitting around the room. Will sat on a plastic chair while Tyler sat against the wall on the floor. Tyler stared up at Will as he nursed his wound. "What? You never see a gunshot wound before?" Will asked Tyler as he took a cotton pad and wiped the blood away.

Tyler watched Will cleaning his wound and asked, "Was anything you told us true, Will? I mean, what about your father? You said he drowned."

Will took a strip of tape and stuck it to the edge of the counter beside him. "Dead father was to get Jay to identify with me," Will revealed.

Jay looked at him with a befuddled look and awkwardly chuckled. "What's your name?" he asked. "Traveler? Taft? One of these five in your passports?"

"Just call me Will. I'm used to it," Will answered as he made a makeshift gauze out of tape and a cotton pad.

"So you're some kind of spy?" Jay questioned.

"Yeah."

"What government do you work for?"

"Yours – at least I used to." Will stuck the gauze to his wound and patted down the tape. "I'll explain it to you once we get movin' again."

"What? You think we're gonna follow you?"

"Well, I don't think you really have a choice, Jay."

Jay stood up to Will and said, "You ain't exactly a hundred percent right now, and even if the FBI is involved, we can still take you to the cops."

Will stared into Jay's eyes and shook his head. "You're not gonna do that."

"Oh yeah?" Tyler taunted. He climbed to his feet and stood up to Will as well. "Why not?"

"Because I know him," Will said, looking at Jay. "He likes to fix things. That's the reason you're here instead of Canada or Mexico." Jay and Tyler stared down at Will; he was exactly right. It didn't seem fair at all that he knew everything about them yet they didn't know what they knew about him was true or false. "You wanna fix this, you come with me."

Will brushed passed Jay, carrying his backpack behind him. Jay and Tyler glanced at one another before leaving to follow Will outside.

In an empty neighborhood vandalized with graffiti, Will found a dark brown station wagon. He pulled out the power drill from his backpack and proceeded to break the lock open. It took less than five seconds for him to unlock the car. Pulling the door open, he hopped over the passenger seat and lay down with his head under the steering wheel. Grabbing at the wires, he touched two wires together, successfully hotwiring the car.

Sticking his head out, Will said, "Tyler, you drive. You know the city better."

Tyler hopped into the driver seat as Will crawled into the back. He laid down on his back while Jay sat in the passenger seat. Tyler strapped his seatbelt on and drove off down the street. They stopped at a stop sign just as two police cars sped by. Tyler's heart almost stopped as he saw the cars pass right by him.

The FBI had found the Chinese mini mart the three boys had stayed in. Yellow tape surrounded the entire store while FBI and policemen walked about inspecting the place. Crouched down by some drops of blood was Chambers with latex gloves on his hands.

"There was a fight," he said as he stood up. Another agent snapped a picture of the blood stain as Chambers walked over to Borjes. "How sure are we that our guys were here?"

"Tip puts our suspects within two blocks when the alarm went off. Looks like Marlow hit one of 'em," Borjes said, raising a bottle of antiseptic to Chambers. "Should slow 'em down."

"And they're still walkin' away," Chambers angrily muttered as he grabbed his jacket off a chair. Slipping his arms through the sleeves of his jacket, he exited the store followed by Borjes.

New York FBI Field Office

All was quiet at the Field Office as Jan Marlow walked through the bullpen. It was the quietest the place had been since this whole fiasco started over four days ago. By now, everyone had heard about Marlow being pulled off the case. A man with balding brown hair nodded quietly to Marlow as he passed her by. Sulking, she entered her office to find two stacks of paper work on her desk. She took off her jacket and placed it on her revolving chair before taking a seat.

Although she knew if she didn't obey Chambers this time she'd most likely lose her job. But then again, Chambers was stuck out on the field with Borjes. Disregarding the stacks of folders next to her, she pulled out a blue folder from her bag. The folder held photographs of Jay Burchell, Tyler Fog, and their known associates. On one side of the folder was Tyler's profile along with his picture taken from the DMV. The other side of the folder held surveillance photos taken of Carlton Fog. Flipping through the photos and papers on the left side of the folder, Marlow saw Burchell's files underneath Tyler's.

"We didn't have anything to do with the Drexler Bombing! We were set up and I have proof," Marlow remembered Jay saying to her. She wished she had gotten her hands on whatever evidence Jay was willing to provide her. With the blue pen in her hand, Marlow scribbled beside Jay's profile the words 'Holloway Insurance?'. Marlow lifted up Jay's files and this time found the only photo the FBI had of Will.

Manhattan, NY

"We need to get to Tyler's car," Will told his friends from the back seat.

"We have a car," Tyler replied. There was no way in hell he was risking returning to Queens now. All he had on his mind was getting out of the city as fast as possible.

"We need yours," Will said as he peeled off the makeshift gauze from his bullet wound. He looked down at the hole in his side and saw most of the blood had dried. To any other person, the bullet wound would sicken them, but to Will, it was just another battle scar.

"You want the car then tell us why," Jay replied firmly. "No more secrets."

"You ever heard the name Jack Freed?"

"Freed knows my father. He's on a list of people who benefited from the Drexler Bombing and he's the former Deputy Director of the FBI," Tyler answered as Jay looked on in surprise.

"I'm impressed," Will grunted as he squeezed superglue out on his wound. "After 9/11 Freed started a domestic espionage program called Operation: Hometown."

"Spying on American citizens," Jay muttered.

"That's right," Will replied, trying to close the wound. "He recruited me into the program then left the FBI to help run Homeland Security."

"Wait. What are you saying? That Homeland Security's behind this?" Tyler asked.

Will shook his head. "Freed's behind this. He picked you two as patsies. You were perfect – two guys who had every reason to hate the government for what happened to your fathers."

"And you set us up," Jay added resentfully.

"You don't know it, but I saved your lives at the Drexler," Will replied. Sticking a new cotton pad on his wound, he said, "Bomb had a failsafe; went off anyway."

Refusing to listen to his former friend's excuse, Tyler said, "You framed us, Will."

"I had orders to kill you. I kept you alive."

"We're supposed to buy this?" Jay asked, turning his head.

"Look, Freed's the one who took your lives away. He's the one who can give them back."

"I saw Freed yesterday with my father," Tyler informed Will.

"In New York?"

"Yeah."

"How do we get to him?" Jay asked.

"I left somethin' Freed wants in Tyler's car," Will disclosed. "That's why we need it."

Jay paused for a second and made a clicking sound with his mouth. "Kim told me the FBI found it."

"Then that's where we're goin'," Will said. He didn't sound the least bit worried that the FBI were in possession of the car. Jay and Tyler, on the other hand, looked scared to death. After such a close encounter, they didn't want to get anywhere near the FBI.

Once morning struck, the sun rose high above the soggy city of New York. The heavy rainfall from the night before still marked the city streets even though the sun brightly shined down on it. In his hotel suite in Manhattan, Jack Freed stood in front of a large mirror, adjusting his dark gray tie. The business outfit he was wearing was comprised of a pinstripe black jacket with matching slacks and a white dress shirt. Gold cufflinks were pinned to the cuffs of his jacket. After adjusting the tie, Freed picked up his gold Italian watch off the dresser in front of him and slipped his hand through it.

The plasma screen TV based on the wall showed the morning news. A female reporter stated, "Our top story once again centers on Drexler Bombing suspects, Tyler Fog and Jay Burchell. Eye witness reports confirm that a confrontation took place between the suspects and Federal Agents outside a lower Manhattan nightclub approximately four AM this morning. The FBI have now implemented a series of checkpoints at all access points to Manhattan and limited subway access will be in effect through the day."

Freed walked over to a small table beside the front door. He picked up his cellphone and dialed someone's number. Somewhere in the city, Otis Whaley sat at a desk with a half-empty glass of water in front of him. He lifted the phone up to his ear to hear Freed say, "We want this mess cleaned up today. It's a go."

Freed hung up his cellphone and left the suite as Otis Whaley emptied his drink and walked away from the table.

New York FBI Field Office

"I want updates from NYPD and transit police, and let me know if you hear anything from the hospitals," Chambers told Borjes.

"Already on it!" Borjes replied as he separated from Chambers and the FBI agents following him.

Chambers hurried into an interrogation room in the far corner of the floor. Slamming the door shut behind him, Chambers furiously shoved a chair to the ground. Pointing his finger at Kim Doherty, he said, "One chance, you understand?"

Kim's face was turning red; she was obviously fearful of what would happen. Chambers appeared beyond irate as he glared at her.

"You helped Jay meet with Agent Marlow. I'm guessing you had something to do with the power outage at the club. Now, Jay and his friends are on the run again. Where are the going?!"

"I don't know," Kim answered.

Chambers titled his head in anger and opened the door. Another agent walked into the room as Chambers ordered Kim, "Stand up." Kim refused to do so and simply stared back at Chambers. The other agent threateningly walked up to Kim and looked down at her with a menacing glance. In compliance, Kim stood up. "Turn around." Again, Kim refused to obey Chambers. The agent that entered the room grabbed Kim by the arms and slammed her into the padded wall behind her. He placed handcuffs around her wrists while Chambers muttered, "I tried to help you, Kim; told you what was best for Jay, what was best for you."

"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law," the agent recited as he dragged Kim out of the room.

FBI Impound Lot

The dark brown station wagon Will, Jay, and Tyler had stolen earlier this morning was parked outside the FBI Impound Lot. They could already see Tyler's SUV sitting on a flatbed ready for removal.

"Looks like they're gonna move it soon," Tyler commented as he looked passed the other cars to see.

"We gotta do this now," Will said. He grabbed the door to open it, but Jay hastily grabbed him.

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Where you goin'?"

"The thing is on a flatbed. We can't waste time!" Will retorted.

"No. I'll do this," Jay said.

"No way," Will replied. He opened the door, but stopped when he saw Tyler pointing the gun at his head.

"You think we trust you?" Tyler questioned. "Jay's going."

Slightly chuckling, Will closed the door and asked sarcastically, "Oh you gonna shoot me, Tyler?"

"After the week we've been through…" Tyler growled.

Jay smiled at Tyler; he was finally showing some initiative. Turning back to Will, he raised his eyebrows and smile in triumph. As Will raised his arms in surrender and slumped back in his seat, Jay opened the door and headed towards the car.

New York FBI Field Office

Peeking through the blinds of her office, Marlow could see Chambers on the phone in his own office while Borjes stood before a map trying to figure out the boys' route. Turning back to her desk, she looked at the web she'd drawn on her paper. It was a spider web – the kind most kids used for prewriting their essays – that included names involved in everything that had happened after the Drexler Bombing. On one half of the paper, Fallbrook Dunn was circled and connected to it was Ellington's name. At the corner of the page, Otis Whaley's name was circled as well, but it wasn't connected to anything. Folding her hands together in front of her, Marlow looked over at the top right of the next page. Joseph's name was circled and connected to Will, which was in turn lined up with Jay and Tyler's names.

Clueless about who some of these people were, Marlow grabbed her cellphone and looked through her phonebook. Highlighting the name 'Stone, Harold, NSA', she called the number. "Hi, Harold? It's Marlow," she began. "I need another favor. We need one more NSA database search. I only have a first name, Joseph. Keywords: Drexler Museum, Will Traveler, Holloway Insurance, Fallbrook Dunn, John Ellington, and Otis Whaley. I call you back in ten. Bye."

Unnoticed, Borjes made her way over to Marlow's office. He leaned in and listened to Marlow finish her call. After Marlow hung up her cell, he questioned, "What are you doing?"

"Pushing paper like I was told!" Marlow indignantly replied.

Borjes sighed and stepped into the room. Sitting down on the chair beside Marlow's desk, he leaned in towards Marlow. "You forced Chambers' hand when you went out on your own last night," he told her. "You could've at least called me in."

"I made a judgment call!" Marlow retorted.

"And it almost got you killed!" Borjes said in a harsh tone. Stabbing the desk with his finger, he said, "We're supposed to be partners."

"Yeah, we are," Marlow sardonically replied.

Borjes furrowed his brow at his partner and shook his head. With his back turned to Marlow and his hand grasping her door frame, he guaranteed, "We'll have 'em by tonight."

FBI Impound Lot

Crawling underneath a chain-link fence, Jay made his way to Tyler's SUV. Ducking behind a truck, he waited for another white truck to drive on through. As he hid behind the large vehicle, he looked over at the building the cops stood beside. There were two police officers and an FBI agent speaking with the manager of the impound lot. All of them appeared pretty busy so Jay hoped they wouldn't spot him right away. The truck passed by a second later and Jay quickly shuffled towards the red SUV. His heart already racing, he climbed up to the flatbed and put his back against the rear of the car.

At the building, the truck driver – a short, stocky man in a gray jumpsuit and brown trucker hat – walked out with a clipboard. One of the policemen saw him and escorted him over to where Tyler's car was. As they watched the driver and the cop heading towards Jay and the car, Will and Tyler exchanged glances. Tyler's looked fear and edginess while Will appeared aloof and unafraid.

The truck driver came around the side of the SUV just as Jay hopped in the back. He quietly closed the door and lay on his back where the back seat was supposed to be. In their search, the FBI had apparently torn out the back seat. Jay remained silent on his back as he heard the door of the truck slamming to a close. Lifting his head up, he watched the truck driver start the engine. Suddenly, one of the cops off to the side whistled and motioned for the driver to go. Fearing for his life, Jay jumped back to the floor of the car and closed his eyes.

Tyler and Will watched in their stolen station wagon as the truck towed the SUV away from the lot. Will quietly looked on as Tyler grumbled, "This better be worth it."

In the back of the SUV, Jay reached into his pocket for the switchblade Will had lent him. Digging it into the carpeting of the car, Jay sliced away. After slicing one side, he pulled the carpet off to reveal the painting Will had stolen from the Drexler. Jay had known it to be called the _Declaration of Independence_. It was a years old oil painting made by John Trumbull; depicting the signing of the Declaration. Jay looked at it for a moment and furrowed his brow. Why would Will steal such a painting? It didn't make sense to Jay that Will would risk stealing this painting. Nevertheless, he was willing to do anything to expose the truth and clear himself and Tyler. He rolled up the painting and embraced it against his chest as he reached over to pop up the trunk.

Right behind the tow truck, Tyler and Will watched as the trunk of the SUV slowly lifted up. Jay climbed out of the back of the SUV and grabbed onto the side. He peeked out to see if the truck driver had seen him; he was still driving on so hopefully he hadn't noticed yet. Jay turned and looked over at Tyler and Will. He had no clue as to how he was supposed to get off the flatbed. Upon turning back around, Jay was jerked forward as he stared into the side mirror; the driver had seen him and stomped on the brake pedal. The force of the brakes knocked Jay forward then knocked him off the flatbed. He landed on the trunk of a taxicab and rolled off on the wet ground. The taxicab hit the brakes as Tyler skidded along the street over to Jay.

Jay struggled to get back on his feet as cold rain pelted his aching body. He looked up to see Will rushing out to save him. In front of them, the truck driver got out of the truck and shouted at them. Hurrying, Will helped up Jay and tossed him into the back of the station wagon.

"Go! Go! Go!" Will ordered Tyler as he jumped into the passenger seat. His side door wasn't even closed before Tyler took off down the drizzling street.

Fifteen minutes later, the FBI and police arrived on the scene. Holding onto the carpet that had been cut out, Chambers listened to the driver tell his story.

"I look at my rearview and there's this mook jumpin' off my truck!" the driver recalled.

"You sure it was Burchell?" Chambers asked.

"Absolutely! No doubt in my mind! And then his friend come up in a brown four-door."

"He had something in his hands?"

"Yeah. Yeah, rolled up," the driver answered. He used his hands to depict how big the item was and said, "About this big."

"Any idea what that was?"

"Naw, I just drive the truck! Somebody else does inventory, man!"

Chambers nodded and walked away while dialing a number on his phone.

New York FBI Field Office

Borjes stood in the computer room staring the system of monitors. "Put up the Carlton Fog surveillance photos from yesterday," he ordered. The agent behind him started typing on his computer as Borjes' phone rang. "This is Borjes," he answered.

"Suspects came back for their car," Chambers immediately said. "Rebroadcast the BOLO. Their traveling in a brown station wagon with Jersey plates. Let's get Con-Ed down here. I want a sewer check in case they went underground."

"They're not leaving the city, sir."

"That's what I'm worried about."

Borjes stopped scribbling on his notepad and looked up. "You think they're planning another attack?" he asked.

"Last time these three were together, we lost the Drexler," Chambers affirmed.

Manhattan, NY

The brown station wagon was parked in a fairly empty parking garage. Other than the station wagon, there were only five more cars in the garage and none of them were even near where Tyler had parked. The three boys stood in front of the car with the painting rolled out on the hood.

"Why is a painting so important to Freed?" Jay demanded to know.

"I can't tell you what I don't know," Will replied, examining the painting for any hidden clues.

"We risked our asses for this?" Tyler cynically asked. It was hard to believe they let themselves be spotted for a simple painting.

Paying no attention to Tyler's petty remark, Will went on, "What I do know is that Freed wants this for whatever reason, and that gives us a chip. It gives us a hand we can play, gives us a way to bring Freed to us." Will's eyes scrambled around the page, looking at every detail, every centimeter, every paint drop on the painting. But nothing, there was absolutely nothing here that told him why the painting was so important to Freed. The why didn't matter to Will, but it was always helpful to be in control and know what he was up against.

Watching Will's eyes run across the painting, Jay questioned, "What's in it for you?" Tyler looked up and stared at Will; the question hadn't even crossed his mind. "You know what we want from Freed. What do you get?"

Will raised his eyes to Jay and simply answered, "He took someone from me." As quickly as he had answered, Will brought his head back down to the painting.

"Who?" Jay asked.

Not willing to answer, Will kept his eyes on the painting. Inwardly, Will was writhing in pain and sorrow; there were no words even God could create to describe the despair Will was drowned in. On the outside, though, he showed a detached, uncaring expression. There was no way in hell he was going to let Jay and Tyler see him vulnerable; they didn't need it now.

Realizing why Will wouldn't answer, Tyler blurted out, "Maya? That's it, isn't it?"

Not surprisingly, Will refused to answer. He had, however, stopped staring at the painting. Now, his eyes simply gazed into space. Jay glared at him and added, "You wanna kill him."

"He used me too," Will replied.

"Forget it! He's no use to us dead!" Jay snapped back. After all they had gone through in the past week, he would rather shoot himself in the foot than let Will kill their only way out. "This painting wasn't destroyed in the blast like everyone thought! If we can connect it to Freed, people start asking questions!"

"I know you are not that naïve! Fred is not gonna let that happen!" Will retorted.

"We're not killin' the only guy who can prove our innocence!" Jay pressed, stepping towards Will.

"Hold on! Wait! Wait! Stop!" Tyler interjected. He jumped in between Jay and Will and asked, "What if there's another way? 'Cause you kill Freed, then it's over, but if we can expose him, then we can make him suffer."

"What are you sayin'?"

"I'm sayin' is that something you'd be interested in?" Tyler asked.

He looked at Will with a questioning gaze. Will stared back and saw out the corner of his eye Jay staring at him too. They both had wondering looks on their faces. Will sighed, but didn't answer. It was surely a good alternative, but watching Freed lay breathless with a bullet in his head was still a far too tempting image.

New York FBI Field Office

"Borjes," an agent called. "I've got those Carlton tapes cued up."

The monitors in front of Borjes flashed to life with enhanced and magnified photographs of Carlton Fog. Borjes looked at them and pointed at the one on the top right. "That's Jack Freed, right? Former Deputy Director?"

"Yeah, that's' right," the agent beside him answered.

"What's he doin' with Carlton Fog?" Borjes wondered. Inspecting the picture, he saw someone in the background. The figure only encompassed a tiny part of the image, but it was enough to be seen. "Hold up. Who's that? Isolate him."

"Got it," the agent replied. With the computer, he formed a box around the figure and zoomed in. It was still too small so he magnified it one more time.

Borjes' jaw dropped as he saw Tyler Fog's face on his screen. "No way."

Staten Island, NY

Marlow walked up to a front door of a large two-story house in the middle of a sprawling, sophisticated, suburban neighborhood. The house was a white color with a light gray frame and a mahogany rooftop. Marlow climbed up the short flight of brick steps and rang the doorbell. Peeking through the clear glass door, Marlow saw the inside of the cozy house. It looked ordinary enough; the foyer was decorated with an old-fashion mirror, a drawer with a vase of flowers in it, and a wide painting on the side. There was a door on the right leading to another room in the house. As Marlow looked through the door, a tall man with gray hair walked up to her. It was Joseph.

He opened the door and said, "Yes?"

"FBI," Marlow began, flashing her badge, "I'm Special Agent Marlow."

"Oh, what can I do to help you?" Joseph pleasantly replied.

"Joseph Langdon?" Marlow asked.

Joseph nodded and answered, "Yes."

"May I ask you a few questions?"

"About?"

"The Drexler Museum bombing," Marlow said.

"Why don't you come inside," Joseph offered. He opened the door wider for Marlow to step in and shut it behind her. As he followed her out the foyer, his friendly, gracious demeanor melted into a cold one.

"Nice house," Marlow commented as they walked passed the staircase. There was a family portrait on the wall and a few paintings around it – one of a man from the 1800s. By the looks of him, the man in the painting looked quite professional and prominent.

"It's my wife's doing entirely. I'm told I have no taste," Joseph said with a fake smile.

Marlow chuckled at the little joke and said, "I'll be quick, sir." She grabbed her notepad and flipped to an empty page. "You're employed by the crisis management firm, Fallbrook Dunn?"

"Uh, well, I'm not on their payroll if that's what you mean, but yes, they're one of my clients," Joseph cryptically answered.

"Meaning?"

"I'm one of their consultants. I work for a number of firms."

"Do you know a man by the name of John Ellington?"

"Only by name. I didn't know him personally," Joseph replied. Shaking his head, he added, "Such a shame what happened to him. I hope you catch the man responsible."

"When was the last time you were employed by the firm?" Marlow questioned.

"Is Fallbrook Dunn under investigation?" Joseph asked, dodging the question.

"Just a background search. It's part of the job," Marlow replied.

The phone began to ring, prompting Joseph to interrupt her. "Excuse me, I'm gonna have to get that." He turned away and picked up the phone. "Yes, this is Joseph." He remained quiet for a moment as the person on the other line spoke to him. As he listened, he slowly turned around to look at Marlow.

Looking up at the painting of the man, Marlow could feel Joseph's eyes on her. She turned around to face him and was met by a conniving smile. She wryly smiled back and waited for him to get done with the phone. As she stood there, she could hear the grandfather clock in the corner ticking away.

"That's good to know. Thank you," Joseph said before hanging up the phone. He turned back to Marlow and flashed a smile at her.

Without warning, Joseph pulled out a gun – a silver Jericho 941 by the looks of it – and fired it at Marlow. The 941 carried .45 caliber bullets so they made a loud noise as they discharged. Two bullets flew over Marlow's head as she dove into the living room. The wood behind her splintered as the bullets marked it. Hunting her down, Joseph pointed his gun out the corner of the doorway and fired two more shots. Marlow ducked behind a couch as one of the bullets shattered the lamp next to it.

Crawling behind a wall, Marlow put her back against it and grabbed her gun. Like most standard issue guns used by the FBI, the Glock 20 was a 10 mm handgun. Marlow cocked the gun just as Joseph shot off another bullet. While Joseph paused to reload, Marlow popped out of her hiding spot and took aim. She fired off three shots, but all missed. She ducked back into her cover spot as Joseph shot at her again. When she heard him stop firing, she jumped up to her feet and recklessly let loose with her gun. The Glock 20 fired off eight bullets into the wall before Marlow took cover again.

Breathing heavily, Marlow popped out her empty magazine and shoved in another cartridge. She noticed Joseph had stopped firing at her so she climbed back to her feet and made her way out the living room. With the gun still trained forward, Marlow eased towards the doorway. Around the corner, she found Joseph lying bloody on the floor. There was a bullet hole in the left side of his chest with a large bloodstain surrounding it. On the wall beside him were several holes formed by the bullets. Blood had sprayed onto the wall over one of the holes.

Joseph strained to pick his gun up, but Marlow kicked it away. "Tell me who was on that phone," Marlow demanded. Joseph looked up at her, blood dripping from his lips. He began to cough up blood as Marlow snapped, "Give me a name. Give me a name!" Joseph started to chuckle, but his laugh soon transformed into a muffled cough. His body jerked up a few times before his head slumped back and his eyes closed. Marlow leaned over and touched his neck with her two fingers. She could feel no heartbeat.

About twenty minutes later, the cleanup crew arrived. Marlow stood over Joseph's body as an agent took a photograph of him. She bent down beside Joseph's corpse and picked up his cellphone. A woman walked passed and Marlow stopped her.

"Bag this," she instructed, handing the cop the phone. "Look for the number of the last person who called it. Whoever it was ordered this man to kill me."

New York FBI Field Office

The blinding light shined through the window blinds of the room Borjes stood in with a cellphone to his ear. He paced across the room to grab his jacket and said into the phone, "Put me through to Chambers."

"Chambers," he said a few seconds later.

Borjes slipped into his dark gray jacket and said, "This is Borjes, sir. I found evidence detailing contact between Carlton Fog and his son yesterday in Manhattan."

"Where?"

"Fog's club."

"We had that place staked out!" Chambers replied.

"Tyler Fog slipped into his father's limo."

"Alright what's your action?"

"I'm on my way to arrest Carlton Fog at his club," Borjes declared. "It's our best bet on finding Tyler's location."

Chambers nodded as he and his men got into a black SUV. "I'll meet you there."

Department of Homeland Security, NY Field Office

A gold statuette of a bald eagle sat on the desk of Jack Freed. An African-American man in a black suit with an earpiece around his ear opened the door and notified Freed, "Sir, I have a call for you on a secure line."

Freed was striding beside his desk with a folder in his hands. "Who is it?" he asked without looking back at the man.

"A Representative Trumbull," the man answered, unsure.

Stopped in his tracks by the name, Freed looked up from the folder he held. He stared out his window at the bright sky and said, "I'll take it. Close the door on your way out."

The African-American man nodded his head and shut the door behind him as Freed set his folder on the desk. Taking a look at his gold wristwatch, Freed picked up the phone and said with a smile, "Good afternoon, Representative."

"I have the painting," Will revealed. "You interested?"

"Will, it's finally nice to speak with you," Freed replied.

"Are you interested?" Will didn't have the time for small talk and he didn't want to have a conversation with the man that ordered Maya's execution.

Freed took a deep breath before replying, "You know, this would've been much easier if you had given it to us the first time we asked."

"I want an exchange."

"Okay, but you know I want more than just the painting," Freed hinted.

Will looked over at Jay and Tyler. The three of them were out on a sidewalk talking on a payphone. Jay was right in front of Will, watching him as he made the call, while Tyler stood a couple feet behind him watching traffic go by. "Yes," Will answered simply.

"And you're okay with this arrangement?"

Will looked around for a moment, contemplating his answer. Finally, he answered, "Yes."

"Name the time and place."

"Washington Square Park, one hour, come alone." Will immediately hung up the phone and looked up at his friends. "We're good. Let's go."

Midtown Manhattan

Borjes and his fellow agents entered Carlton Fog's cigar club. It was a rather eccentric yet elegant club. At the front of the building, there were men and women – mostly old men – sitting on soft recliners and chairs smoking some of the world's finest cigars. As Borjes walked further throughout the club, he found a staircase leading up to a hallway to a restaurant above.

"Sir," a hostess groaned. She was trying to stop Borjes from coming into the restaurant, but all Borjes did was push his badge in her face.

"You guys get more presumptuous every day," Carlton said as Borjes and his men walked up to his table. "Who told you you could come in here?"

"You did, sir," Borjes replied, showing Carlton the photograph of Carlton with Freed and Tyler in the background, "by meeting with your son yesterday and not reporting it.

Borjes set the photo down on the table and got up and close personal with Carlton. Fog's bodyguards began to move in on Borjes, but Carlton stood up and said to Agent Borjes, "Alright, you listen to me. He is my next of kin. I am under no obligation whatsoever to tell you anything!"

"We'll let the judge decide that," Borjes replied. To his agent, he ordered, "Cuff him."

"Get your hands off of me!" Carlton shouted as an agent reached for his hand.

"I'm placing you under arrest for harboring – "

"Do you have any idea who you're talking to?!" Carlton snapped.

"Yeah, I do," Borjes pushed. He nodded to his agent and said, "Let's go."

From behind, Chambers entered the restaurant and called out, "Borjes!"

Carlton looked at him and in a calm tone said, "Tell this man he's making one hell of a mistake."

Borjes looked at Chambers nonchalantly; he knew Chambers was in agreement with him today. Shaking his head at Fog, Chambers said, "Not this time." Carlton turned to Chambers as if he'd just been betrayed. However, he kept his composure and remained cool as Chambers continued, "I told you to tell me if you had contact with your son. Proceed with the arrest."

The agent standing behind Fog locked the cuffs around his wrists and pushed him forward. Carlton glared at Chambers as he made his way out of the restaurant. Chambers refused to look him in the eye, though. He followed Borjes and the other agents outside the restaurant a couple seconds later.

"This your first big score, Borjes?" Carlton asked mockingly as Borjes dragged him out into the pouring rain. Chuckling, Carlton added, "I bet you already notified the press, hmm?"

"Not my style, sir," Borjes replied aloofly. He refused to get suckered in by a man like Carlton Fog. He despised people like him – snakes who did whatever they could to survive, no matter who they poisoned along the way.

"It worked for your boss!" Carlton added.

"No more talking!" Chambers said as he opened the door.

Borjes was about to shove Carlton into the back of a black sedan when he looked across the street. His eyes went wide with alarm and panic as he watched Otis Whaley lift a gun out of the brown jacket he was holding. He began to shake his head and yelled, "Get down!"

Unfortunately, it was too late as Whaley pulled the trigger. A hail of bullets shot out at Carlton Fog, piercing his chest several times. It felt like a dozen fire pokers had just tapped his skin all at once. Fog's body crashed into Chambers' arms as all the agents ducked to the ground.

"It's Whaley, sir!" Borjes said as he looked across the street. Whaley put on the brown jacket he was wearing and adjusted a hat on his head as he calmly walked away from the scene. "I got him! I got the shooter!"

"Borjes!" Chambers screamed as his agent ran across the street after Whaley. Pointing at Carlton Fog, he instructed his other agent, "Stay with him! Call an ambulance!"

Whaley sprinted down the street, looking back at Borjes and the two other agents running alongside him. He crossed the street and headed down a hill. Dashing into an alley, he shed the brown jacket he was wearing and ripped off his hat. He looked over to his right and saw a closed dumpster with a fire escape above it. He climbed onto the top of the dumpster and grabbed a hold of the ladder above it. Climbing up the rungs of the ladder, he made his way up to the fire escape.

Down below, Borjes and his two fellow agents arrived as Whaley reached the top of the fire escape. Borjes opened fire on him, but missed. Whaley recklessly fired away with his automatic pistol, but missed every shot. He darted into the building as Borjes ordered his men to go around the front. Hopping onto the dumpster, Borjes made his way into the building as well. Making sure Whaley wasn't there, Borjes headed inside and started up the stairs. At the top of the spiraling stairwell, Whaley aimed down with his weapon and fired. Borjes jumped back, putting his spine against the wall as bullets rained down on him. Whaley stopped a second later and hurried away as Borjes continued his pursuit.

Entering a room lined with plastic covering, Whaley attempted to escape out a window. "Freeze!" Borjes ordered as he appeared behind Whaley. "Drop the weapon and put your hands on your head!" Whaley remained standing by the window with his gun still in his hand. "Drop it now!"

Whaley set the pistol on the ground as Chambers entered the room. "Borjes!" he called. "I got him covered."

"Don't move a muscle!" Borjes told Whaley as he holstered his weapon and grabbed his cuffs. He eased towards Whaley and proudly said to Chambers, "This is Otis Whaley, sir." After chasing him down for what he did to Fowler, Borjes felt victorious to have finally cornered him. Whaley was like his pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

"I know. Good work," Chambers replied. He holstered his own weapon, but grabbed another. Aiming it forward, he said, "Borjes."

Borjes turned around and found himself staring into the barrel of Chambers' gun. Having no clue as to what was happening, he tilted his head and looked at Chambers. A grunt escaped his lips as a bullet penetrated his chest. He could practically see the smoke drifting out of Chambers' gun as he collapsed to the dirty floor. Borjes groaned in pain as he felt his last seconds passing away. He stared at Chambers in a mix of anger, hate, and confusion. He watched helplessly as Chambers holstered his weapon and pulled out a white handkerchief. With an arrogant smile on his face, Whaley walked up to Chambers and stood right beside him – it was where Borjes was standing not even five minutes ago.

Another groan came from Borjes as he watched Chambers clean his revolver. He handed it to Whaley and said, "Make sure you dispose of this."

"Yes, sir," Whaley said as he looked down at Borjes with a snicker. He turned around and headed out the room through the back exit.

Chambers crouched down beside Borjes and reached for his arm. Grumbling, Borjes tried to shove Chambers away. He grabbed Chambers by the throat, but his grasp was so weak Chambers couldn't even feel it. Borjes shook his head as Chambers placed a gun in his hand and set his arm on the ground beside him.

"You did good work, Borjes," Chambers whispered to him. He almost sounded sincere. "Too good."

Borjes watched as Chambers stepped away from his body. Breathing was beginning to become a struggle; it had already been hard, but not this hard. Borjes could feel his lungs giving out as his heart slowed to a stop. His eyes glazing over, Borjes' body ceased all movement and he died.

"This is SAC Chambers! SAC Chambers!" Chambers shouted into his radio a few feet away. "I got a man down!"

Several minutes later, Marlow found herself climbing up the spiral staircase in the abandoned building Borjes had chased Whaley into. Through the doorway she just came through, red and blue sirens wailed, illuminating the lightless building. A pair of police officers passed by Marlow as she reached the top of the stairs. In the room on the top floor, there were FBI agents, police officers, and EMTs checking the room. By the doorway, which Marlow walked through, was the lifeless body of her partner.

Marlow almost shrunk to the ground when she saw Borjes' corpse lying on the stretcher. His hands were folded over on his chest and his eyes were closed. There was a tranquil look about him as he lay there breathless. Marlow could feel her heart skip a beat as she edged closer to her partner. Her melancholy face stared at Borjes as she grabbed his cold hands to keep herself from melting.

New York FBI Field Office – 3 Years Ago

Director Cox was the head of the Field Office based in New York City, New York. He was an intolerant, by-the-book man who didn't like being disobeyed. Marlow was never one of his favorites, but she did do her job and she did it particularly well too. On one side of the wooden desk, Cox sat on his revolving chair while Marlow sat in the chair across from him. He stared at her with cold, emotionless eyes as she stared back, twiddling her fingers on her lap.

"After what happened in Trenton six months ago, I should have you turn in your gun and badge," Cox grumbled. "Luckily, the higher-ups think you're still a little bit useful. Instead of firing you like I should be doing, you're being given a new partner."

"I understand," Marlow replied, nodding.

"Let's hope you don't get this one shot like you did with Chambers," Cox sarcastically said.

Marlow hated whenever he brought that up; she turned her eyes away from him to keep from punching him in the face. At his desk, Cox pressed a button on the receiver of his telephone and said, "Bring him in."

Outside, Guillermo Borjes sat on a brown chair, smiling at Cox's secretary. She flashed him a big smile back after hanging up the phone. Motioning for him to go into the office, she said, "You can go in now?"

"Do I have to?" Borjes flirted.

The blonde-haired secretary giggled and nodded. "I'm afraid you have to," she replied.

Borjes chuckled and stood up. Adjusting his necktie, he opened the door and stepped into Director Cox's office. Cox looked up at him with an unimpressed look while Marlow stood up to greet him. She shook his hand and introduced herself.

"Special Agent Jan Marlow."

"Guillermo Borjes," Borjes said, smiling back at her.

The guy didn't look like much, but Marlow would have liked to have anyone as her partner save for Chambers. After the Trenton fiasco, there was no way in hell she ever wanted to work with him again. She smiled back at Borjes as he shook hands with Cox. Together, the two agents took a seat side by side in front of their boss.

As her body began to tremble, Marlow couldn't believe the last time she spoke with Borjes, they were on opposite sides. She regretted snapping at him earlier and wished she could take it back. Her lips quivering, Marlow picked up Borjes' badge and stared at it in her hands. A few feet away, Chambers turned around to see Marlow weeping over her partner's body. Indifferently staring back, Chambers swallowed the saliva in his mouth and turned away.

Manhattan, NY

"Yeah, Washington Square Park," Freed said into his phone. He had just come out a gentlemen's club in the Upper East Side of Manhattan. The limousine waiting for him was parked right in front of the exit he'd just come from. Motioning to the driver to wait another minute, he continued, "Look out for any activity. I'm leaving now. Should be there in ten minutes."

Freed hung his phone up and stuck it in his right pocket as he walked over to his limousine. Unlike usual, the driver wasn't waiting to open the door for him. Leaning down towards the passenger side window, he knocked on the window. Right away, someone darted behind his back and cocked a gun. At the sound of it, Freed stood up straight and smiled to himself.

"Hello, Will," he said.

From behind, Will grabbed Freed by the shoulder and escorted him away from the car with the gun on the back of his neck. "Hey, Jack."

Will led Freed into the bowels of the parking garage, where there weren't even any cars parked around. All there was around them was a system of pipes and electric boxes. Will shoved Freed forward as he looked over at Jay. A cocky smile came over his face as he walked in the direction Will instructed.

"Mr. Burchell," he nodded as Jay came to join them. Stopping, he noticed Tyler was there too. "And Mr. Fog. What a surprise."

Will led Freed into a small, closed off part of the level with a metal desk topped with hardware and a revolving chair in front of it. He stopped walking and looked around him. Will, Jay, and Tyler circled him like birds of prey. Freed, however, didn't look the least bit frightened as he smiled at them.

"You two have caused quite a bit of problems this week," Freed told them.

Brandishing the gun at him, Will ordered, "Sit down!"

"Is this where we share our feelings?" Freed sardonically asked. "Tell each other how much we've… suffered? Sacrificed?"

"Sit!" Will demanded, sticking the gun in his nemesis' face.

Freed turned to Will and sternly warned, "Don't forget who you're talking to, Will."

Without hesitation, Will smacked Freed across the mouth with the butt of his gun. Grabbing him by the collar of his nicely ironed jacket, Will threw him into the chair and held him down. Pinning Freed to the chair with one hand and aiming the gun at his head with another, Will shot Freed a menacing look.

Touching the red blood on the side of his lip, Freed said, "Oh I get it now. This is about Maya. You think I bare some responsibility for her death."

"You didn't have to kill her," Will replied in a whispering tone.

"Will!" Tyler shouted, trying to calm Will down and stop him from blowing Freed's brains out.

"Put it down, Will. That's not why we're here," Jay added.

Will held the gun at Freed as his entire body shuddered. The man responsible for his beloved's death was right in front of him and yet he couldn't do a thing about it. Clenching his teeth together, he kept the gun on Freed's face. Taunting him, Freed questioned, "Yeah, why are you here, Will? I thought we had an arrangement?"

Suddenly, Will slowly turned around and trained his gun on Jay and Tyler. He could see their young faces contorting into grim looks of shock and betrayal. "Sorry," was all he could muster up to say.

"What?!" Tyler mouthed in awe. The look on his face suggested he couldn't believe whatever was happening right now.

"You were part of the bargain," Will replied.

"No," Jay muttered.

"You've gotta be kidding me," Tyler quivered.

"I'm out! No questions asked! You don't come looking for me, I don't reveal what I know," Will said.

Behind Will, Freed rose up from the chair and wiped the rest of the blood from his lip. Turning to Will, he asked, "What about the rest of our bargain?"

Will aimed his gun at Tyler and ordered, "Give him the painting, Tyler."

Tyler looked at Will with anger in his eyes. Shaking his head, he timidly said, "We trusted you."

"Give it to him!" Tyler held onto the backpack, refusing to hand over their only leverage against Freed. Next to him, Jay looked at Will in suspense as Will turned the gun on him tensely. "I will shoot him, Tyler! Give him the painting. Give him the painting!"

Tyler set his backpack to the ground; the top half of the Trumbull painting stuck out. Pulling it out of the bag, he handed it over to Freed. Freed gladly snatched the painting back and unrolled it a little bit to see if it was the actual painting. Nodding, Freed began to walk away. However, Will's words forced his feet to quit moving.

"What's the Fourth Branch?" Will questioned. He looked at Freed, who took a deep breath. "I know the history of the painting."

"Then you should know the evidence was to be destroyed in the bombing," Freed revealed.

"All of this was about getting rid of a painting?" Will asked.

Chuckling, Freed answered, "No. No. No. No. The Drexler Bombing was about fear and control. This is just the beginning."

Will glanced over at Jay, who looked back at him. Again, Freed turned to leave, but he felt Will's gun aimed at his back. Turning around, he looked at Will in disgust. Behind Will, his two friends moved in closer as Jay reached up at one of the times for Kim's camera.

"Oh Will," Freed sighed.

Jay pressed the 'play' button on the camera and listened to the recording Freed had just given to them. Listening to his own confession, Freed chuckled and nodded his head. His intense blue eyes gazed across at the three boys that had outsmarted him.

"Clever," he said. Glancing at Will, he asked, "So this is it, Will? You're gonna choose two dead men over an oath you took for your country?"

Looking at Freed with revulsion, Will clenched his teeth and reeled his hand back. The butt of his gun was merely an inch away from Freed's temple as he answered, "My country, not you."

Freed's body fell to the ground in a heap as Jay and Tyler looked away. Staring down at his former boss, Will holstered his weapon and instructed Tyler and Jay to drag him back to the car. Once they were at Freed's limo, they stuffed Freed into the back. Tyler hopped into the front seat, shoving over the unconscious body of the driver, while Jay and Will jumped into the back to keep an eye on Freed.

Minutes later, the limousine was seen careening through the wet streets of New York. Racing down the street, Will and Jay stared at Freed, who they had tied up. A large red swell marked his temple while deep, red blood trickled from the cut under it.

"Who do you think they're gonna listen to?" Freed taunted. "Three known terrorists or a Director of Homeland Security?" Instead of answering, Jay flashed him the digital camera. "I'll say the tape was doctored."

"We've got enough evidence to get people's attention," Jay replied while Will kept the gun on Freed. "Make them question the story they've been told."

"The police aren't gonna charge me," Freed said nonchalantly.

Parking the car by the sidewalk, Tyler looked back at his friends and Freed and answered, "Yeah, but we're not takin' you to the police."

"There are other ways of holding you accountable," Jay smiled. Freed turned and peered through the tinted windows of his limousine at the front entrance of the New York Gazette, a well-known newspaper in the city. "The evidence – your confession. The truth about the Drexler will come out in the press."

Will glared at Freed one last time and ordered, "Let's go." He reached over to open the door, but Freed stopped him.

"You wanna know about the Fourth Branch?" Freed teased. Jay and Will leaned back in their seats and looked at Freed curiously. "It's the reason your father served his country, Jay. It's the reason Carlton Fog offered up his eldest son."

"Don't listen to him. He's desperate," Will warned his friends.

"Will, you've been working for the Fourth Branch this whole time," Freed told him.

Furrowing his brow, Will leaned in to hear more. Jay grabbed him by the sleeve of his jacket and said, "He's reaching."

"I'm not reaching. Let me go. I'll tell you the truth about everything. Leave me here, the truth stays with me."

Waving his gun towards the New York Gazette, Will emotionlessly replied, "Tell it to them."

Freed stared at Will and scoffed at him. He knew there was no chance in hell of getting these boys to change their minds. Nevertheless, Freed opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. He could do nothing, but listen to the doors of the limousine open and shut as Will, Jay, and Tyler left him.

New York FBI Field Office

A woman reading a file by the entrance of the bullpen looked up to see Marlow enter the office sullenly. She looked quite dreary and unresponsive as she made her way across the room to her office. Everyone in the office quietly watched her walk through. No one had any idea what to say. Walking to Borjes' desk, she somberly set his badge down.

"Agent Marlow," an agent said from behind. Marlow turned around and looked at the man who showed her a piece of paper. "You wanted the last incoming number off the dead suspect's cellphone?"

Marlow nodded and hesitantly replied, "Yeah, thanks."

She took the piece of paper from the agent and looked at it. The agent stood in front of her for a moment as if he wanted to comfort her somehow for her loss. Unfortunately, he couldn't think of a thing to tell her. He walked away silently as Marlow entered her office beside Borjes' desk. Picking up her cellphone, she dialed the number on the piece of paper.

"Hello?" a familiar voice answered.

Marlow drew the phone back and stared at the screen. It was a number she'd never seen before, but the voice on the other line sounded far too familiar.

"Hello? Who is this?" the voice asked again.

Gasping in shock, Marlow peeked out her window across the room. In the office adjacent to hers was Chambers'. He hung his cellphone up and held it in his hands for a second. Her heart beating wildly, Marlow spun around and put her back against the wall. Tensely holding her cellphone to her chest, she looked around for a second in a stupor.

Manhattan, NY

A large, black SUV drove up an empty alleyway to the side of a building. The building had a large, gray double door with barbed wire wrapped around the top of the doorway. One of the agents opened the side door and pulled Kim out.

"Where are we?" Kim asked. She didn't even have enough time to take in her surroundings as the agents lead her away. Screaming, she asked, "Where's Agent Chambers? Where are you taking me?!"

Lower Manhattan

Across the street from the New York Gazette, Jay, Tyler, and Will stood next to a phone booth. Jay had the telephone up to his ear and anxiously waited for an answer.

"News desk. What do you got?"

"The truth about what happened to the Drexler is in the limo parked outside your front lobby. The man responsible is in the back seat," Jay said. "When you get to the car, call back at this number."

"Interesting," the man hummed. "Be right down."

Jay smiled as he listened to the man hang up his phone. Turning to Will and Tyler, he said, "They're on their way down."

Tyler nodded and asked, "So if this works and word gets out, then what?"

"Then we keep tellin' people. It's gonna take a lot of convincing," Jay answered.

"Doesn't work like that for me. I was a part of this," Will replied, shaking his head.

"When the truth comes out, we'll tell people you tried to stop Freed," Jay told him.

Will was unsure if his friends really would; after everything he'd gone to them, he was sure they wouldn't trust him again. He turned around to look at Tyler, who nodded in agreement with Jay and raised his eyebrows to Will. A soft genuine smile subtly formed across Will's face. Suddenly, the sound of an eruption echoed throughout the slightly deserted street. In disbelief, the three boys turned around to see Freed's limo up in flames, the roof ripped off by the explosion.

"No. No," Tyler sobbed, shaking his head vigorously.

Jay gawked at the burning wreckage before him and grabbed a hold of the payphone to keep himself from falling over. Will started tapping his friends' shoulders and pulled them away from the scene.

"C'mon! C'mon! We gotta go!" Will bellowed. "GO!"


	9. Chapter 9: New Beginning

And so begins the second season of **TRAVELER**. From here on out, most of the ideas and events you'll be reading about are my own, but they are based on the foundation laid out by _Traveler_ creator, Dave DiGilio, on his blog at TV Guide. Thank you for coming with me this far and I hope you stay for the rest of the ride. Hopefully, I do Mr. DiGilio's creation some justice.

Main Cast

Jay Burchell………………..Matthew Bomer

Tyler Fog………...Logan Marshall-Green

Will Traveler………………..Aaron Stanford

Allison Chambers………….Summer Glau

Gabriel Fog………………...Ben Foster

Jan Marlow…………………Viola Davis

Fred Chambers…………….Steven Culp

Guest Starring

Kim Doherty………………...Pascale Hutton

The Porter…………………..Billy Mayo

Carlton Fog………………...William Sadler

David Roth…………………..Peter Stormare

Carissa Mailer………………Alberta Watson

Driver……...…………………Phillip Rhys

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**Chapter 9: New Beginning**

Tearing down the damp, dark streets of New York was a red miniature car. Taped to the top of the remote-control car were two tiny rectangles. They were tan-colored and looked like molded clay or plastic. The remote-control car sped down the road, dodging the light traffic and rushing through a small, dirty puddle. Several yards away, holding the controller for the car was the Porter. The tall, African-American man wore a black t-shirt under a brown jacket and blue jeans. He pushed the white control stick forward with his thumb as he maneuvered the miniature car down the street. The remote-control car quietly passed by Will, Jay, and Tyler, who stood beside a phone booth, and headed across the street to the black limousine parked outside the news station. The car came to a stop right under the limo. In his hiding spot, the Porter stuck the remote control into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small, black object resembling a small pen. He pressed down on the top of the trigger for a second and released. Suddenly, the limousine erupted into flames and transformed into a geyser of fire. Its roof ripped wide open and its windows completely shattered. The doors seemed to be almost coming off their hinges and the trunk had propped open.

Across the street, Will, Jay, and Tyler all looked on in disbelief at the burning wreckage. As the limousine went up in flames, so did all their hopes of proving their innocence. Tyler grabbed at his brown hair as he gawked at the bright, burning sight. Beside him, Jay's mouth formed a 'no' and he covered his mouth in awe as he held onto the phone booth to stay standing. The only one who seemed to be in control of himself was Will, who grabbed his two friends by the shoulders and motioned for them to run.

"C'mon! C'mon! We gotta go!" Will barked at them. He pushed Jay and Tyler over and urged, "GO!"

The three boys quickly ran down the street as fast as they could. Their bodies had become accustomed to it so it felt like second nature to them now. As they ran in one direction, several pedestrians ran in the other. Everyone around had heard the loud explosion and were going to check out where it came from. With more and more people coming up the street, Will instructed Jay and Tyler to slow down. It would have been strange for three college graduates to be running away from an explosion rather than towards it with innocent curiosity. Walking now, the three boys pretended to be oblivious to the explosion. Turning their heads with perplexed looks on their faces, they tried to appear ignorant.

As he followed Jay and Will down the street, Tyler's heart almost stopped beating. Two police cars, their sirens blaring, raced up the street towards the explosion. So as to hide his face, Tyler grabbed the gray hood of his jacket and pulled it up over his head. In front of him, Jay placed the blue Cubs cap atop his head and continued walking alongside his friends. The three boys were about to turn the corner when a third police car sped by. Like the other two, it passed the boys by with no hesitation. However, it suddenly made a U-turn and flashed its high beams on at the three boys.

As if reading one another's minds, the three boys made a run for it. The police car shifted into high gear and pursued them down the street. Will, Jay, and Tyler jumped into an alleyway and ran down the rat-infested corridor. The police car passed by them before coming to a sudden halt. It reversed and turned into the alley. The sound of heavy, rubber wheels grinding against the corroded ground of the alleyway almost made Jay and Tyler faint. Will, on the other hand, was faring much better. He knew what to do in situations like these; he'd been in plenty of them before. In an attempt to elude the policemen, he leaped up to the railing of a fire escape. Pulling himself up, he climbed onto the platform and motioned for Jay and Tyler to follow him. He kicked down the ladder of the fire escape before the cops could get to them. Jay and Tyler hastily climbed up the ladder and followed Will up the stairs. Braking, the policemen stopped their car beside the fire escape and looked up. Jay had pulled the ladder up with him as he climbed up. Sirens whirring, the patrol car exited the alley and went around.

"Will! Will! What are we doing? We'll be cornered up here!" Jay told him.

"No we won't!" Will reassured him. "Just trust me!"

The three boys reached the top of the fire escape, where Will stopped and looked around to find the door into the building. Tyler found it before him and grabbed at the doorknob. It was locked. Turning around, Tyler shook his head to Will. However, Will refused to let a simple locked door stop him. Reeling his right leg back, Will kicked forward with as much force as he could. The door splintered open and Tyler and Jay rushed in with Will behind them.

As they ran down the stairs, they could hear the sound of feet approaching. Motioning for his friends to be quiet, Will put his back up against the wall and peeked around the corner. It was just a little boy and his older brother. Will waved for Jay and Tyler to follow him and they headed across the hallway. Sprinting down the stairs, they ran as fast they'd ever run before. Will skidded to a stop, though, and signaled for Jay and Tyler to go down another way. Keeping calm, Will had heard the radio of the policemen coming up the stairs. He led Jay and Tyler behind a wall and crouched low, waiting for the policemen to pass by. The two officers split up with one rushing up the stairs and the other going down the hallway. It allowed an opportunity for the boys to make their escape. Their feet carrying them across the floor, the three boys dashed towards the staircase. The policeman left on the floor with them spun around and opened fire.

"Shit!" Tyler shrieked as he followed Will and Jay down the staircase. Bullets blazing passed them and penetrating the walls, the three boys quickly made a getaway.

On the bottom floor, Will reached for the doorknob and opened the door to reveal the street. Fortunately, the police hadn't caught up to them yet. Will's feet landed on the wet ground as Jay and Tyler followed. Once all three boys were on the sidewalk, they prepared to head to the nearest spot they could find to hide. However, the sound of a police siren alarmed them to their pursuers' presence.

"C'mon! This way!" Jay shouted, pointing towards the subway sign across the street.

The three boys sprinted towards the subway sign and ran down the stairs leading into the station. Outside, a police car stopped and the officers inside ran after the three boys. Will, Jay, and Tyler hopped over the railing separating the waiting platform from the lobby. A security guard saw them and called for them to stop. When they refused, the man ran after them. The security guard lost sight of them, though, as they stopped running and melded into the huge sea of commuters.

Breathing heavily, Tyler looked over to the left and saw the security guard searching over the heads of the people for them. At the other end of the subway station, the two cops that were after them appeared and surveyed the area. Swallowing, Tyler did his best to blend in with the other commuters waiting for a ride. Beside him, Jay kept his eyes facing the ground so no one would see his face. Fortunately for Will, his identity wasn't known to the public eye yet. He simply stood next to Jay with his hands stuffed in his pockets and the zipper on his black track jacket pulled up to the collar. Seconds later, a train zoomed by and came to a stop. Its mechanical doors slid open with a whooshing sound and the three boys departed from the station, leaving behind their shadows.

New York FBI Field Office

Fred Chambers stood in his office in convoluted vexation. He held in his hand his second cellphone, the one he used only for "special" occasions. It had rung only seconds ago. The number that called was vaguely familiar, but it wasn't stored into his cellphone. He looked at it again and felt like he'd seen it many times before. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his other phone and opened it. Dialing the number into his original cellphone, he proceeded to call. Hitting the green 'call' button, he waited for the caller ID to appear. In a flash, it appeared. Jan Marlow, it read. Chambers' eyes immediately went wide and he hung up the phone. Staring across the hallway into Marlow's office, he saw she wasn't there anymore.

Chambers strode over to her office and checked every inch of the room to see if she was hiding or had left any evidence against him. There appeared to be neither in the room. Most of her stuff was in there except for her briefcase. Taking the walkie-talkie out from the back of his holster, he pressed a button on the side and said, "This is SAC Chambers. We have a breach! I repeat: we have a breach! Seal all exits and be on the lookout for Special Agent Jan Marlow!"

Running down the stairwell, Marlow heard the order coming in through the walkie-talkie on her holster. She cursed under her breath and withdrew her 10 mm. If Chambers was dirty, there was no telling who else in the building was dirty as well. Marlow kept the gun close to her and kept her index finger poised on the trigger. As she climbed down the stairs, she heard the door to the stairwell open and close several floors above her.

Manhattan, NY

With the key card the motel manager gave him hours earlier, Jay unlocked the door to his room and rushed inside along with Tyler and Will. Profusely sweating, Tyler ripped off his hoodie and jacket and tossed them on the bed. He ran his slender fingers through his hair and sat on the edge of the bed, breathing heavier than ever. His body heaving up and down, he looked up at his two best friends with weary eyes.

"What are we gonna do? Holy crap, what are we gonna do?" he freaked out.

"Calm down, Tyler! I'm sure we can think of something!" Jay replied, putting a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder. "We still got a copy of the recording! We can still take it to the press!"

"No. No. That copy of the recording – it's worthless. Without the original tape we can't prove anything; they'll just say it's doctored and we won't have any way of proving them otherwise," Will explained to his friends as he took a seat on the chair by the door.

"Then what are we supposed to do, huh?! We can't just sit here and put our heads together!" Jay exploded.

"When I did I say that was what we're gonna do?" Will replied.

"When did we say we were gonna listen to whatever you say?" Tyler countered. Sitting up, he added, "You still betrayed us, Will. Nothing changes that." He apparently still felt the sting of betrayal. It was a hard feeling to get rid of; it had been chasing him for the past week and it didn't seem to let up.

"You sayin' you can't trust me, Tyler?" Will asked with piercing eyes.

"We're saying we don't know you!" Jay answered for his friend. The anger in his voice was evident. His tone suggested he still hadn't forgiven Will, even though he had helped them throughout the night. "For two years, you lied to us. How do you expect us to trust you?"

Will sighed and leaned back against the spine of his chair. He rested his elbow on the arm and rubbed his chin. There was obviously some confliction going on inside of him. The mixed up feelings of regret, guilt, and duty were churning in his stomach. He couldn't think of a damn thing to say to his friends; he wasn't even sure if they were his friends still. After all he'd done to them he wasn't certain he even deserved to be called their friend. Clearing his throat, he thought up an answer. "You don't have to trust me, Jay, but I suggest you do – because I am the only one who's on your side now."

New York FBI Field Office

"Marlow!" Chambers screamed as he came down the stairwell. A few floors below, Marlow looked up to see her boss running down after her. As she stuck her head out, Chambers instantly fired a shot down at her. Marlow quickly pulled her head back and made it down the next flight of stairs. "There's nowhere to run, Marlow! I've got all the exits locked down!"

Heavily breathing, Marlow put her back up against the wall and pointed her 10 mm at the wall three floors above her. Chambers was coming down, and as he did, she pulled the trigger. Several bullets went flying as Marlow opened fire on her boss. Chambers ducked and took cover beside the railing. Aiming his gun at Marlow, he fired, but missed as Marlow grabbed a door and opened it. She ran onto the third floor of the building and ran down a hallway. Two agents Chambers had sent looking for her spotted her on her way to the elevator. They ran after her, their guns waving in the air. Marlow sprinted passed the elevator and went to the other end of the hallway. Entering the other stairwell, she turned and opened fire on the agents coming after her. One of her bullets shot through the agent's right shoulder, knocking him off his feet. The other agent kept coming at her, though, and ripped the shut red door open.

With a head start, Marlow was already two floors down. The agent ran after her with Chambers busting through a door a moment later. He talked to the agent in front of him as they climbed down the stairwell. "Have them shut down the elevators and mechanical doors. I don't want her even getting close to escaping."

"Yes, sir," the agent said as he grabbed his walkie-talkie. Pressing a button on the side of the device, he said, "All elevators and doors are to be shut down on orders of SAC Chambers. I repeat: lock down all elevators and mechanical doors. There is a breach in the building."

Several floors down, Marlow had placed her back against the wall as she caught her breath. Beads of sweat dripped down her forehead and ran down to the floor. Swallowing, she cocked her gun and opened the door next to her. Pointing her gun forward, she scanned the floor for any hostiles. She had ended up on the second floor, where all the files were kept on hard copies and stored into filing cabinets. The cabinets formed a maze that Marlow attempted to navigate through. She heard the door flinging open behind her as she crouched around the cabinets. Kneeling down, she readied her gun and trained the barrel forward, prepared to shoot at the next thing that moved.

Manhattan, NY

"So what do you suggest we do then, Will?" Tyler wanted to know, standing up from the edge of the bed.

"We have to hide somewhere – get out of the city, out of the open. It's too risky for you guys to stay out in public like this. People know your faces – they'll recognize you. We have to hide till the heat dies down – even just a little bit," Will recommended.

"No! No! I refuse to hide from this!" Jay shouted. He opened his mouth to say something, but Will raised a hand to interrupt him.

"I know you like to fix things, Jay, but this, the situation we're in – it can't be fixed that easily! What are you gonna do when we get outta this motel room, huh? Run to the nearest news station and hope they let you in?! The cops are probably watching every media station in the city right now! We were spotted on the scene of that explosion, Jay!"

"What? You're saying we're being blamed for that too?!" Tyler interjected.

"What do you think, Tyler? You two are supposed terrorists and I'm your accomplice. Of course they'd think we blew up Freed and that limo."

"But we didn't – we didn't do it!" Tyler frenetically riposted.

"They don't care who did it. They'll pin the blame on anyone they want," Will cynically replied.

"So we just hide and hope the heat cools down?" Jay asked. Will gave him a nod. "And what about Kim?"

"The FBI has her," Will said.

"Then we gotta save her! You know the feds can't be trusted!"

"Yeah, Jay, let's go run to their office with our guns blazing and hope we kill everyone there and save the girl," Will sarcastically said. Getting up, he added, "This isn't the movies, Jay, and we're not bulletproof."

"What am I supposed to do about her then?"

Will had no answer for Jay. He knew how Jay felt, but there was nothing he could say or do to comfort him and quell his fears. Kim was in the Fourth Branch's hands now, just like Maya was. He shook his head and blinked, signaling to Jay he didn't have an answer.

Sniffling, Jay turned away from Will and Tyler and crossed over to the window. He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. "I can't let her get hurt, guys. You know I love her. When you love someone you protect them, you give all you've got to make sure nothing bad ever happens to them."

Will winced at Jay's words; they stung like a poisonous viper. He had unquestionably loved Maya, but he was still unable to save her. Trying to keep tears from brimming over his eyes, he bit his lower lip and looked away from Jay and Tyler. His eyes glazed over as if he was contemplating something. For the first time in what seemed like forever, he realized he hadn't even cried over his dead girlfriend – the one he loved. However, he refused to cry now; it wasn't the time and it wasn't the place. His friends needed him to stay strong and resilient; he needed himself to remain stoic and emotionless.

Across the room, Jay noticed his words had hit Will quite hard. Feeling an ounce of compassion, he said, "Hey, man, I'm sorry – I wasn't – "

"No, it's fine," Will replied, trying to stash his emotions behind an empty gaze. "I know you didn't mean it."

Suddenly, a hail of bullets penetrated the door, splintering the wood and causes the screws to loosen. Will, who was the closest to the shattered door, tipped back in his chair and let it drop to the floor. Rolling over, he climbed to his feet and placed his back up against the wall. On the bed, Tyler hopped up to his feet at the frightening sound of the bullets entering the room. He tried covering his face with his arms and frantically crawled backwards against the bedpost. By the window, Jay ducked and crawled over beside the bed. His heart beat fast and loud as he listened to the gunshots stop.

"Get behind me and stay against the wall! Will instructed his friends. Reaching under his jacket, he grabbed his gun, a .45 tactical Heckler & Koch USP, as Jay and Tyler ran behind him. He cocked the USP and aimed it at the doorframe while he backed away towards the bathroom. The door fell down seconds later from the impact of a kick, giving Will the go-ahead to open fire on the assailant.

New York FBI Field Office

Chambers and his fellow agent crept through the database room. The lighting in the room was a low blue hue so it was fairly hard to see. Chambers motioned for the other agent to go around while he went straight forward. The agent nodded and made his way around the filing cabinets. Meanwhile, Chambers, his gun pointed outright, stalked through the cabinets on the hunt for Marlow.

In the middle of the entangled maze of cabinets, Marlow kept her gun trained forward. At the sight of the agent's shoe, Marlow pressed the trigger. She missed and the agent turned towards her. He pointed his gun at her head, but didn't follow through with a bullet. It gave Marlow enough of an opportunity to take him down. She smashed the butt of her 9mm into the agent's throat as he got closer and slipped around him to put him in a headlock. Behind another row of filing cabinets, Chambers fired once he saw Marlow lift her head up. Fortunately, Marlow pulled the agent down quickly and administered a vicious headlock on him. He tried to rip her arms away with his fingers, but in his weakened state, he couldn't do a thing. His eyelids began to close and his arms felt heavier than bricks. Within three seconds, he was out. Marlow released the hold around his neck and crawled through the filing cabinets. As she crawled, she remained on the lookout for Chambers. Unfortunately, she failed to check behind her. Backing away from a row of cabinets, she backed right into the barrel of Chambers' gun.

"Marlow," Chambers coldly said.

Sighing at her stupid mistake, Marlow turned around with a cold, stoic look. "Why'd you do it, Chambers? Was it for money? Huh?"

"Money – no. My reasons for this aren't so juvenile," Chambers replied emotionlessly.

"Did you have Borjes killed too?" Marlow demanded to know.

Chambers glowered down at Marlow and expressionlessly shook his head. Cocking the gun in his hand, he answered, "No. I killed him myself."

Marlow's eyes widened and her jaw dropped; the feelings of hatred swelling up in her stomach made her want to attack Chambers right now and rip his throat out. His finger was seconds away from pulling the trigger when Marlow smacked his arm out of the way and punched him in the gut. Chambers dropped his gun as Marlow grabbed him by the collar of his jacket and pushed him up against a filing cabinet. The cabinet almost tipped over as Marlow slammed him against it and drove an elbow into his gut. She was about to hit the butt of her gun against his head, but he managed to grab her hand and twist it behind her. Grasping Marlow's neck, Chambers began to choke her. Wrestling for her life, Marlow grabbed Chambers' hands, trying to get them to loosen up. She clenched her teeth and began feeling drowsy. As the oxygen in her lungs began to give way, she fell to her knees. Her eyes appeared to be rolling back into her head as she dropped to the floor. Holding Marlow's throat with his fingers, Chambers grinded his teeth together. He almost appeared to be enjoying the sensation of killing Marlow. Suddenly, that pleasurable sensation was replaced by a feeling of splitting pain.

In a move of desperation, Marlow kicked Chambers' shin with the heel of her shoes. She kicked him so hard that it split his tibia in half. Part of the white bone was sticking out through his flesh with deep red blood dripping from it like spilled milk. Undoubtedly, he was in an insurmountable amount of pain. Chambers' teeth loosened and he let out a ghastly yelp. He agonizingly doubled over and slammed his palm on the floor as Marlow crawled away.

Coughing, she rubbed her fingers against her aching throat and watched as Chambers cursed her. Reaching forward, Chambers grabbed his gun and pointed it at Marlow. Unhesitatingly, Marlow turned and ran from the cabinets. Still screaming in pain, Chambers emptied the clip in his gun at the rows of filing cabinets before him.

"Marlow!" he screeched.

Manhattan, NY

Standing outside the motel room door he had just put holes through, a brown-haired gunman kicked it down. Before he could even step foot in the room, a stream of bullets came charging at him. The gunman backed away and crouched down. Aiming at the corner of the room the bullets came from, he pulled on the trigger. He could see the person's shadow jump and move to the side as he fired on him. Entering the room, the gunman was forced to reload his weapon. He was about to stick a new magazine into the butt of the Glock 18 when Will came out of his cover spot to attack him. The brown-haired gunman got the new magazine into his weapon, but before he could fire, Will grabbed his inner left elbow, moved it aside, and swatted the machine pistol out of his hand. The gun slid across the floor as Will backhanded his opponent across the face with his right hand, his left hand still holding off the gunman's left arm.

Will punched the gunman twice in the gut and shouted, "Jay, Tyler – get out of here!"

He didn't have to tell the boys twice; they hurriedly exited the room and ran down the hallway, leaving Will to deal with the assailant. Will went for a third punch, but the gunman managed to grab his wrist. Headbutting Will, the gunman forced him to let go of his arm. As Will staggered backwards, his opponent threw a punch at his head. Raising his left forearm to block the hit, Will hooked the gunman in the kidney. In retaliation, he grabbed Will's left arm and placed it in an arm bar. Will tried to get out of the hold by driving his elbow into the gunman's side, but nothing worked. The gunman tightened the arm bar and pulled upwards, trying to dislocate Will's shoulder. Growling, Will put his right foot up against the wall and kicked off of it, knocking the man backwards onto the ground.

Jay and Tyler were outside of the motel now. They were about to head down the street when Jay abruptly stopped.

"What are you stopping for? C'mon!" Tyler urged, turning to face his friend.

"No, we can't leave Will," Jay replied.

"What?! What are you talking about?!"

"We need him! He's right – he's the only one who can help us now!" Jay answered. Although he didn't like the idea of helping a traitor, much less a traitor who set him and his best friend up, he knew he had to save Will. Will was the only one they could turn to now – the only one who knew what to do. Besides, there was still that glimmer of hope inside him that thought Will wasn't completely lying about himself and the bond between them was true.

Angrily, Tyler stamped his foot on the ground and looked around him. Worriedly scratching the side of his neck, he turned to Jay and gave him a concerned look. He was much more apprehensive than Jay. Jay shrugged at him, questioning whether or not they would help their friend.

Inside the motel room, Will bit at the gunman's forearm to get him to loosen his grip. A scream escaped from the man's lips as Will's teeth dug deep into his flesh. Still on his back, the gunman tried to lift Will up to his feet. As he tried, though, Will brought his knee up and smashed it against the man's face. The gunman's head bobbed backwards as Will escaped his grip. Turning around to face him, Will punched him across the face and went for a kick to his right knee. The gunman blocked the kick with his leg and threw a punch at Will, which Will swatted away with his hand. He lunged forward to punch the gunman again, but the gunman countered with a punch of his own to Will's stomach. He reached up for Will's head, but Will backed away and used an uppercut to stun his enemy. Backing away, the gunman wiped the smidge of blood on the side of his lip.

Smirking maniacally, the gunman motioned for Will to attack him. With an irritated look on his face, Will threw a punch at him. The gunman ducked and elbowed Will in the gut. As Will stepped back, the gunman tried to jab his elbow into Will's face. However, Will blocked with both his hands and pushed his opponent forward. He immediately followed it up with a one-two punch, knocking the gunman to the ground. With his enemy on the floor, Will raised his foot up and brought it down with as much force as a brick falling from a balcony. The gunman luckily rolled out of the way and climbed to his knees. Before he could get up to his feet, Will ran over and threw a kick at his face. The gunman managed to defend himself and drove his elbow into Will's knee. He finally got up on his feet and threw a punch at Will. The assailant's sharp knuckles dug into Will's face and sent him back against the window. The gunman leaped at Will again and wrapped his arms around Will's head. Locking his fingers together, he began to apply pressure and squeeze the life out of Will.

Right at that moment, Jay and Tyler ran back into the room. Jay crashed into the gunman, slamming his body against the window. He smashed his elbow into the man's side twice, forcing him to release Will. Meanwhile, Tyler picked up the gun the assassin dropped and pointed it at him. As Jay and Will backed away, the gunman pulled out a switchblade from his boot and pointed it at the three boys.

"C'mon! You gonna shoot me?" the man mocked.

"Shoot him now, Tyler!" Will insisted. Tyler held the gun in his hand, its barrel pointed right at the gunman's head, but he didn't do anything. His hand shook as he held the gun.

"You ain't gonna shoot me!"

"Shoot him now!" Will persisted. He wiped blood from the side of his lip and glanced from Tyler to the gunman. With his knife in his hand, the assailant looked ready to pounce on Tyler the first chance he got. Tyler, on the other hand, looked like a deer caught in the headlights. His hand shook, his lips quivered, and his body felt tingly as sweat permeated from his every pore.

"I can't!" Tyler replied, trembling.

"Yes, you can! Shoot him, Tyler!"

"He can't do it!" the gunman taunted. His eyes resembled the eyes of a vulture ready to scoop down and finish off the already dying prey. "He's too scared!"

Behind Will, Jay stared on in suspense. He knew if Tyler didn't shoot the man now, he'd surely attack them. However, he did not want to condone killing a man. Jay remained quiet as he looked at Tyler, the gunman, and Will.

Almost hyperventilating, Tyler aimed the gun right at the gunman's head. He could feel his finger gripping the trigger, but he couldn't bring himself to shoot it. Closing his eyes, he cocked the gun. However, just as he did, the man lunged right at him, swinging his switchblade.

"Tyler!" Will shouted.

In a split second, a flash of sparks illuminated the room as Tyler pressed down on the trigger, spraying metal bullets out at the gunman. The brown-haired man's body rattled and quaked like a toddler's little toy as bullets entered and exited his body every nanosecond. Blood splattered across the room and onto the carpeted floor. Hit by the last round of bullets left in the cartridge, his body slammed back against the decimated window frame and slumped onto the floor.

Seeing the gunman's bloody body before his eyes, Tyler fell to the floor. His fingers loosened their grip around the handle of the Glock 18, dropping it to the floor. Saliva dripped from his lips and sweat showered his body. A nervous anxiety filled his body as he quivered on the floor. Tyler had never killed someone before; he'd never even shot a gun. The sight of the gunman's body jolting as he put bullets through it was a haunting image; something Tyler was sure would be embedded in his head forever. He was still stirring even as Jay helped him up to his feet.

"Are you alright?" Jay asked him comfortingly.

Tyler wasn't even able to answer. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out. Looking out the window, Will turned to his friends and grabbed them by the shoulders. "Let's go! We gotta get a move on!"

"What are you talking about?" Jay questioned.

"What? You don't think no one else heard that? The police are gonna be on their way," Will answered as he headed out the room.

"I just killed someone," Tyler mumbled as Jay dragged him out of the motel room.

Will turned to Tyler and grabbed him by the collar. "Hey, listen to me. Things are going to get hard; they are going to get painful. People are gonna die and they might just die at your hands! You need to be ready for that!"

"Will, stop it!" Jay barked. "You can't expect us to be prepared to kill people!"

"Then you're as good as dead because – you know what – the people that are after you – they are prepared to kill anyone in their way. Me, you, Tyler, everyone in their path – we've all got big, red targets on our backs!"

Jay glared at Will and stepped towards him. The exacerbated face he wore suggested he was ready to punch Will. He held himself back, though, as Tyler incoherently mumbled something to them.

"It's okay," he stammered. Wiping spit from his lips, he added, "Let's just get the hell outta here before those cops show up."

The boys had fled from the motel five minutes ago. Will found a gold Ford Explorer parked on the sidewalk in front of the motel and broke into it. He quickly hot-wired the vehicle and drove off with Jay and Tyler. Will stopped the car in front of a red traffic light. Just then, a pair of police cars passed by. The three boys' hearts stopped as the cars drove through. Luckily, they weren't seen and the cars continued onward. However, outside the motel, the man who owned the Ford Explorer flagged down the cops.

"Hey! Hey! My car's been stolen!" he shouted, pointing his finger at the shattered pieces of glass on the side of the street.

"Did you see who did it?" one of the cops asked.

"No, but I heard gunshots in there earlier," the man replied, referring to the motel. "It's a Ford Explorer."

The cop turned to his partner, "Didn't we pass by a Ford Explorer down there?"

The cop's eyes widened as he jumped back into his car with his partner. Turning to the cops in the car, he shouted, "The shooters were in that Ford Explorer we passed by!"

"Gotcha!" the driver of the second patrol car replied. He turned the wheel sharply to the left and followed the other car up the street.

Driving down a hill, Will turned a right corner and drove up another street. Through the rearview mirror, he could see the flashing sirens of the two patrol cars coming after him.

"Pull over!" one of the cops ordered through the intercom.

Will looked back at the car, but didn't obey the orders given to him. Instead, he sped up and raced up the street.

"Pull over right now!" the cop shouted again.

Will began to slow down and pulled over to the side of the road. Jay and Tyler shot confused and worried looks at Will, but he shot them back a stern one. The expression he had on his face told his friends that he knew exactly what he was doing. Once Will hit the brakes, the two cop cars pulled over behind him.

The cops from the first car stepped out of their vehicle with their guns at their sides. One of the cops pointed it at the Explorer as the other one walked over to the driver's side. Behind them, the two cops provided backup and stood back with their guns aimed forward. As the policeman neared Will's window, he let go of the brake pedal and tore away from the cops. The four policemen frantically rushed back into their vehicles while Will raced through the dimly lit streets. Will passed by a white four-door, almost sideswiping it as he turned a corner. The cop car came driving up seconds later, trying to pull up right beside the Explorer and corner the three boys.

However, Will hit the brakes and made a U-turn, causing them to speed passed him. The two police cars quickly stopped and turned to continue following the three boys. In their seats, Tyler and Jay stared back at the cars following them. Will glanced at them for a second through his rear-view mirror then made a sharp left turn. The two cars pursued him down another street and almost caught up. Unfortunately for them, a black Honda was pulling out of its parking spot on the sidewalk. One of the police cars smashed into the Honda's side while the other car followed Will, Jay, and Tyler. As he pushed the Ford Explorer to one-hundred miles per hour, Will dodged a line of cars coming across the street. With the police sirens wailing behind them, the streets were fairly clear. However, as they sped through the intersection, a green truck came barreling towards them.

"Shit!" Will exclaimed as he spun the wheel all the way to the right.

The car almost spun out of control as the green truck came to a stop in the middle of the intersection. Will regained control of their vehicle and looked across the street. The police were mere seconds away. There was no way he'd have enough time to keep moving forward. In front of them were a street light and a blue mailbox. Turning around once more, Will shifted into reverse and drove away from the cops. In reverse, he was forced to dodge several of the cars driving out on the street.

The single police car was still in front of them. It continued to get closer and closer, but Will made sure it couldn't stop him. Seeing the intersection was clear, Will sharply turned the wheel to the left, causing the Ford Explorer to spin around. Will immediately hit the brakes and shifted back into first gear. As the sound of another police car's sirens came at their car, Will stomped on the gas pedal, shooting the car forward.

Driving down a vacant street, Will passed by several cars parallel parked on the side. He looked around for a way out as three police cars appeared behind him. One of them got quite close to the side of the Ford Explorer, but Will smashed the side of the car into it. The police car crashed into one of the parked cars while the other two pursued Will and his two friends. Staring straight ahead, Will saw an on-ramp a few yards away and drove straight towards it. He drove up the on-ramp, gripping the wheel tightly and turning it. The car followed the sharp curve of the highway and continued down the long stretch.

There were many cars driving alongside Will's Ford Explorer as the two police cars chased after him. Looking back, he switched lanes and passed the two cars in front of him. He switched into another lane the same time another car was switching. The car honked at Will, but he ignored it and drove on. The two police cars' sirens blared across the highway as it followed Will. They passed all the other cars on the road and went straight for the Ford Explorer. One of the cars rammed into the left side of the car, sending it smashing into another car. Will quickly turned away from the car he had just rammed into and went for the off ramp.

The off-ramp led him down a dark, empty street with barely any cars driving on it. However, the road was very narrow and there were several cars parked on either side of the street. Out of nowhere, another car came towards the Ford Explorer. Apparently, the street they were on was a one-way street. The car honked at them, but Will refused to stop. Barreling down the street, he swerved to the right. Although both sides of the Ford Explorer were being carved up by the car Will had passed by and the cars parked on the side, he continued onwards. Beside him, Jay was breathing heavily and sweating as if he had been running. His pulse was pounding and his heartbeat was racing. He turned back at Tyler, who was turned around watching the two cop cars. One of the police cars crashed into the oncoming car, while the other one managed to hit the brakes. Finally, the police were considerably detracted from pursuing the boys.

Unfortunately, the sound of more police sirens rang evidently through the night air. Will shifted the car up to fifth gear and soared down the wet street, splashing the wheels of the Explorer over puddles of muddy water. As the Explorer continued down the street, three more police cars appeared. They hounded the Ford Explorer; one of them rammed the rear bumper of the car, causing Will, Jay, and Tyler's heads to jolt forward. Will tried to get away from the, but they kept coming. The second police car slammed into the side of the car while the first continued ramming it from behind. Will suddenly pulled up the emergency brake, causing the car to stop and forcing the police car behind it to crash into the Ford Explorer. The police car slammed right into the bumper of the car; the hood popped up while the car lifted up off its wheels. Will hurriedly shifted back to first gear and raced down the street. With the two police cars still doggedly chasing him, Will smashed the car through a pair of fenced gates that led to a train yard. One side of the gate crashed on top of the Ford Explorer, but Will continued onwards. Behind him, the two police cars arrived and chased the Explorer down. However, Will parked the car in between two large containers and climbed out.

"C'mon! This way!" he shouted to Jay and Tyler, who followed him out of the car.

The three boys ran down a gravel-paved corridor and turned to enter the harrowing maze of trains and containers. The rows of train cars and containers seemed to go on forever, almost reaching to the end of the city. Will, Jay, and Tyler ran down one row and turned down another corner while the policemen stopped their car in front of the Ford Explorer and hopped out. With a considerable lead, the boys hurriedly ran through the maze until they saw a train preparing to leave the yard.

"C'mon! That train – we can stowaway onto the back of it!" Jay suggested. He, Will, and Tyler headed straight for the train as the sound of the policemen's footsteps along the gravel path got closer.

Racing towards the open car of the train, Will got ahead of his two friends. He was certainly the fastest of them, the swiftest and most agile. His feet were a blur as he sprinted towards the train. Behind him, Jay and Tyler were having a hard time keeping up, especially with the train speeding up already. Reaching towards the car, Will grabbed a hold of the edge of the door and lifted himself into the car. Bracing himself, he landed hard against the car and rolled off to the side. He climbed up to his feet a second later and stuck his head out the door. Jay and Tyler were still several feet behind and the cops were closing in on them.

"Will!" Jay pleaded, extending his hand out to his friend.

Standing beside the door, Will stared at his friend's hand. He bit his lower lip and contemplated whether or not to help his friend. He shook his head and shouted back, "I think it's better if we split up!"

"You don't honestly believe that?!" Jay questioned. The look on his face was one of overwhelmed anxiety. He couldn't believe he heard his friend just suggest they split up.

Will stared back at Jay; he looked his old friend in the eyes and saw the worry in them. Trying to cover the culpable grief overflowing inside of him, Will looked away towards the other trains they were rushing passed. In his mind, he played the events of the past week. In a single flash, he had betrayed his two best friends and framed them for a terrorist act. And now, here he was about to do it again. Visibly conflicted, Will turned back to his friends and looked at them. They both held their arms out for his help. In a moment of momentous decision, Will stretched his hand out to help the people he had betrayed. Maybe with work, they'd become friends again. Will grasped his fingers around Jay's hand and used all his strength to pull him into the car. Tyler was next; Will grabbed him with both hands as he leaned against the door and lifted him into the car. Standing over his two friends, Will sighed and closed his eyes as he leaned back against the side of the boxcar. Picking up speed, the train shot through the railroad, leaving the cops behind in its dust. Above them, dawn embraced the purple sky as the train rolled away from the city.

Buckley Rock, Colorado – Three Months Later

The mining town of Buckley Rock, Colorado was a rather small town with a little over two-thousand residents. It wasn't a very diverse town; most of its residents were Caucasian or African-American with a few Hispanics around. The one thing connecting them all to one another was the Howler Basin just outside of town. The Howler Basin provided nearly the entire town's income. Almost half the population of Buckley Rock worked there. The Howler Basin was a large coal mine located about six miles from Buckley Rock.

It was five o'clock PM and the sun was at its peak. It beamed down on the hot, bone dry Howler Basin, which looked rather desolate and deserted. At the strike of a clock, over several dozen miners flooded out of the caves. Marching under the scalding red sun, the miners headed towards a large locker room across the dirty, dusty field. Amongst the miners was a lean, young man, who looked no older than twenty-six. The young man stood at about 5'10" and wore a dark gray t-shirt that was speckled with dry dirt and black powder from coals. He also sported a pair of baggy, brown cargo pants and heavy, sturdy, black boots that were crusted with brown dirt. Ripping the yellow hardhat off his head, the young man took his left glove off and ran his fingers through his disheveled, sweaty hair.

The brown-haired youth walked up to the door to the locker room. As the man before him held open the door, he nodded his thanks to the man and headed inside. Walking down an aisle of lockers, he found his own and entered his combination. Spinning the small, black knob to its encoded combination, he looked up at the small TV set attached to the wall. On the TV screen was a news report on the Drexler Bombing. The woman reporting it stated, "Today is the three-month anniversary of the Drexler Bombing, and it's another month gone without any sign of the Drexler Bombing suspects. The suspects of the bombing – Jay Burchell, Tyler Fog – and their accomplice – who used the alias, Will Traveler – evaded the authorities and disappeared from the face of the earth three months ago after a long week of cat-and-mouse with the FBI and police. Officials now believe the Ivy League terrorists have fled the country, possibly to somewhere in the Middle East." The young man intently looked on to see if the reporter would give out any more information. The reporter continued with, "And in other news…"

The young man noiselessly turned away from the TV and reached into his locker for his fresh set of clothes. He grabbed them and walked over to the showers. Several miners were already under the sprinkling shower heads, washing away the day's toil. The young man set his clothes on the side and stepped under a shower. Turning the cold water on, he stood still as the translucent, calm water rushed across his body. Black powder ran off his lean body and into the drains as he rubbed a bar of soap along the crevices of his body. Placing the soap bar on the holder in front of him, the youth held his head under the running water to wash away all the sweat and grime. Seven minutes later, the young man turned the water off and wiped himself down with a gray towel. Wrapping the towel around his waist, he walked back to his locker and dressed. He put on a pair of navy blue denim jeans and a pair of white sneakers. Unfolding a bright red t-shirt, he slipped it over his head and shoulders and pulled its end down a little. Wiping his hair with his towel once more, the young man tossed the towel into the locker and kicked it closed.

Twirling a ring of keys around his right index finger, the young man exited the locker room and walked across to the parking lot. A white four-door drove away from the Howler Basin as the young man reached an old, beat up '67 Camaro. The flat black paint of the car had begun to chip off and dry dirt from the desert had wrapped around the bottom of the car. The brown-haired youth hopped into the car and stuck the key into the ignition. The loud, roaring engine rumbled to life. As the AC started to work its magic, the young man adjusted the rear-view mirror and stared into it. Looking into the mirror, he could barely even see his old self. Underneath the disheveled dark brown hair and stubbles running along the lower half of the face was Will Traveler. His hair had gotten slightly longer; you could barely see his forehead any more. The only thing that didn't seem to change was those bright blue eyes – intense yet emotionless and chilling. Shifting the car into reverse, Will backed out of his parking spot, his exhaust tip blowing soil and sand up into the air. Shifting up to first gear, he pulled out of the Howler Basin parking lot and drove away back to town.

Sitting on a white couch in a one-story, two-bedroom house in Buckley Rock were Jay Burchell and Tyler Fog. They had changed their appearances as well. Jay's hair was longer and slicked back with bangs curled over his forehead. He had also shaven recently since there weren't even stubbles around his face. Tyler, on the other hand, had cut his hair shorter, dyed it blonde, and wore it gelled up. There were still highlights of his dark brown hair that still showed underneath, though. Jay wore a black t-shirt and blue basketball shorts as he drank a can of soda. Next to him, Tyler wore a white t-shirt and gray sweatpants. In front of them was a small TV set that played the same news report Will had been watching at the mine locker room.

"They think we're in the Middle East," Tyler candidly said, slightly smiling.

Jay drank from his soda can and replied, "You know what that means, right?"

"That we're in the same league as Osama bin Laden now?" Tyler jokingly guessed.

Jay scowled at Tyler with a stern expression. "You know what I'm talking about."

Tyler stared at Jay for a moment then blurted out, "No. No!"

"Why not? It's the perfect time to start our search! Everyone thinks we're gone, the FBI has stopped lookin' for us – there's no reason we shouldn't go!" Jay exploded.

Tyler ran his hand through his frosty blonde hair and sighed. "Exactly, that's why we don't have to search for the truth anymore! No one is trying to find us now – we can do whatever we want."

"As long as we stay here in Buckley Rock," Jay added. "I don't know about you, Tyler, but personally, I think this town sucks and I wanna get outta here."

"Well, go ahead and leave then! Go back to New York! Go back to the real world and get yourself shot!" Tyler sarcastically replied. "This might not be paradise, but at least I can sit back, relax, and drink some beers again without having to worry about a cop being behind me every second!"

"I'm sorry, Tyler," Jay sighed. "You might not have anything to go back to, but I do. Kim's still out there."

"She's gone, Jay," Tyler snapped. "No one's heard from her in three months! News reports didn't even mention her being detained by the FBI at the club! Don't you think that means something?!"

"Don't you dare say that!" Jay shouted defensively as he stood up.

Tyler looked away from Jay and bit his lips. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I didn't mean it."

Jay shook his head and said, "C'mon, Ty. Don't tell me you don't wanna clear our names and get back at the sons of bitches that were behind the Drexler."

Nibbling on his fingernails, Tyler looked up with a melancholic expression. Shrugging, he suggested, "Let's just wait for Will. See what he thinks."

Sitting back down, Jay nodded his head. Smiling a little, he replied, "Fair enough."

New York FBI Field Office

Walking up to the entrance of the FBI Field Office in New York was a gorgeous young woman. She was about twenty-five years old and stood at 5'6". She was a short, slim girl with big, beautiful, doe brown eyes and long brunette-colored hair that fell over her soft shoulders. Clothing her slender body was a lace black shirt underneath a navy blue blouse and indigo jeans. Slung around her right shoulder was a big backpack that carried a laptop, a notebook, and some pens and pencils. In her right and left hands, the young woman carried two cups of coffee she bought from the Starbucks a couple blocks away.

"Hi," she greeted a man in the lobby as she headed towards the elevator.

The man nodded back at her on his way out the building. Juggling the coffee cups in her hands, the young woman pressed the 'up' button in between the two elevators. Waiting a second longer, the young woman hopped on the next elevator that took her up to the fifth floor, where the bullpen was.

"Hi, Allison," a woman smiled at her as the elevator doors slid open.

"Hey," the young woman, Allison, replied. She exited the elevator and waved goodbye at the woman as she rode the elevator down. Looking around, Allison searched over the computers and the heads of others in her search for her father.

In one of the computer rooms, Agent Fred Chambers stood in the middle of a circle formed by his agents. In the past three months, Chambers had managed to quickly climb the chain of command. He was now the head of the entire Field Office and had every agent in New York at his disposal.

On the system of monitors in front of Chambers and his men was video footage of a building that had been blown up the day before. It showed surveillance videos of the building prior to its explosion. One of the monitors focused on the image of a man in a dark gray coat with a hat on his head.

"Zoom in," Chambers ordered one of his agents. The agent clicked on the man's head and formed a box around it. The magnified image was still hard to see, but the agent did something else to sharpen the image. The man's face was clear enough now that the FBI could hopefully get a match in the databases. Pointing a stiff finger at the man's face, Chambers said, "I want that man's name, his address, everything you got on him! We're getting our man today, people!"

The FBI agents surrounding Chambers nodded and diverted off into different directions. Chambers put his hands on his hips and sighed as he stared up at the image of the man. Suddenly, the young woman from the elevator came up behind him and called for him.

"Dad!" she shouted. Chambers turned around with a surprised look on his face. The expression quickly changed into a look of happiness and joy as he hugged the young woman. "Watch out for my hair, Daddy! I just got it done!"

"Sorry, hon'," Chambers replied. "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be at work?"

"There's a thing called break, Dad. You should try it once in a while," Allison told him. She handed him his cup of coffee and said, "By the way, I got you this. Black, no sugar – just the way you like it."

Chambers smiled and replied, "Thanks, honey." He took a sip of the coffee and set it down on the desk next to him. "Unfortunately, I don't have time to chat right now."

"I can see," Allison noted as she looked at the monitors behind her father.

"Yeah," Chambers muttered. "Sorry."

"Well, if you have time later tonight, you think you might wanna come out to dinner with me? It's been a while since we had some good old father-daughter time, you know," Allison suggested.

Chambers grabbed his daughter by her shoulders and squeezed her arms. With a sad look on his face, he said, "I'm sorry, honey, but today's just not good for me. Maybe some other time."

The hopeful look on Allison's face contorted into a disappointed one. It'd been quite some time since she even spoke personally with her father. He was always at work and when he wasn't, he was never home. Allison knew it was part of the job, but she wished he'd at least save some time for her. Sighing, she nodded and said, "Okay. I understand."

"I promise, though, I'll make it up to you," Chambers added.

Allison nodded and smiled. "Okay." She looked down at her watch and patted her dad on the arm. "Hey, I gotta head back to work. I'll see you whenever you get back home."

Allison started for the door as Chambers nodded. Before she disappeared from sight, Chambers shouted, "I love you, Al!"

Her feet stopped and she turned around. It had been quite a while since she heard Chambers tell her that. It almost made up for the fact that he dodged her again. With a big smile on her face, Allison called back, "I love you too, Dad!"

Buckley Rock, CO

Hal's Donuts was a small donut shop inside the town of Buckley Rock. There were a few people inside, sitting at the tables, nibbling at donuts and sipping coffees. At the front counter with a wallet was Will Traveler. He handed the cashier – a short, teenage girl with blonde hair – five bucks. The girl stuffed the dollars into her register and slid the box of a dozen donuts to Will.

"Thank you! Come again," the girl cheerily recited.

Will nodded back and grabbed the box of donuts. With his free hand, he opened the front door and held it open for a family walking in. The mother and father thanked Will as their son smiled up at him. Will stared down at the little boy and smiled back.

Soleri, Arizona – Twenty Years Ago

The sun was high and beamed down on the tiny playground just outside the trailer park where Will lived with his mother. Will was a short, skinny boy of about six years of age with dark brown hair that almost covered his hair. His mother was a single waitress at a local diner and didn't make much money, meaning Will had at least another month to wait till he could get a haircut. She and Will strived day by day on what she earned. He wore a simple white t-shirt and blue shorts as he played by himself at the park.

He slowly walked up the steps and headed towards the small, yellow slide. A little girl slid down the slide cheerfully, waving her tiny hands in the air. Will was up next and he couldn't wait. Unfortunately, a short, chubby boy ran over to the slide and shoved Will out of the way. He fell on his hands and looked up sadly at the boy that had pushed him. The boy didn't even say sorry or anything. He simply prepared to slip down the yellow slide.

"Be careful, Tommy!" the boy's mother warned him.

"I know, Mom!" the little boy shouted back as he raised his arms in the air and slid down.

Will glared at the little boy as he slid down to the sawdust. Clenching his teeth so he wouldn't cry, Will moved over to the slide and slipped down. On the inside, he was rather jovial and excited about going down the slide. Outwardly, though, he refused to show his emotions. There were lots of other boys there and he didn't want to shriek like a little girl in fear of being harassed like at school.

Will walked away from the slide and headed towards the swing set across the small playground. A little boy the same age as Will was sitting on the swings, heaving his legs back and forth as he swung around. The look on his face was of pure joy. Excitement took over Will as he hopped onto the swing and swung it forward.

Beside him, the little boy turned to his father and pleaded, "Mommy, higher please!"

"Alright, Joey, but not too high, okay?" the boy's father replied. He got up from the bench he sat on, reading a newspaper, and walked up behind his son. He grabbed the chains on the swing and pulled back. Once his son was high up, he smiled and cheerfully asked, "You ready?"

"Yup!" the boy said as his dad let go.

The little boy and his swing flew high into the air. To Will, it seemed as if he'd reached the sun. Will smiled inwardly at the sight. He wanted so badly to feel that kind of happiness, to go that high in the air, to feel the warmth of a father's love. Sadly looking away from the boy, Will continued to morosely swing forwards and backwards.

U.S. Medical Center for Federal Criminals – New York

The U.S. Medical Center for Federal Criminals was a large facility housing criminals that were in need of serious medical help. It was located about an hour away from New York City and was surrounded on all sides by forestry and fields. There was only one single road leading up to the hospital. The U.S. Medical Center housed up to one-thousand federal criminals and prisoners. It had six floors, each with over or around one-hundred hospital rooms. Throughout the building, nurses in drab scrubs and doctors in white lab coats walked around with clipboards, pens, and medical charts in their hands.

On the fourth floor of the hospital, in Room 451, was Carlton Fog. His quiet, softly heaving body lay on a tiny mattress with a cold, metal frame. The warm light coming in through his open blinds illuminated the stained linoleum floor and sharpened the specks of dust floating throughout the small, chilly room. Standing beside Carlton's bed was a large medical ventilator that kept track of Carlton's heart rate and made sure he got enough air in and out of his weakened lungs.

Ever since the attack on his life three months ago, Carlton had been remanded to the U.S. Medical Center for Federal Criminals while his appeals were being exhausted. A bitter, tired look on his face, Carlton stared up at the man before him with proud eyes. The young man was of average height and lean – he stood at 5'10" and weighed about one-hundred and thirty-something pounds. Although his look didn't suggest his cunning and determination, his demeanor sure did. He stood straight and tall, his chest puffed out, and his arms steady at his side. He was wearing the outfit of a military officer with several medals on his lapel including the Purple Heart, the Silver Star, and the Distinguished Service Cross. As he stood at the foot of Carlton Fog's bed, he stared forward with eyes that spoke of great devotion and love to the man before him.

Carlton stared up at the young man and opened his mouth. His lips were dry and chapped; the little saliva around his lips glued his upper and lower lips together, but he managed to rip them open. Speaking in a raspy tone, he said to the man watching him, "We have a problem… with your brother."

Buckley Rock, CO

The one-story condominium Will, Jay, and Tyler were renting out sat towards the outskirts of town. The neighborhood was fairly quiet and everyone was kind and generous to one another. It wasn't a very big neighborhood; there were many condos beside one another with few trees and bushes around. The entrance to the neighborhood started at a long, narrow street that led to a fork in the road. Down one end of the fork was a cul-de-sac while the other end led to the rest of the winding neighborhood. The boys' home was somewhere down this road.

Leaning against the wooden railing of his front porch was Tyler. He wore a black t-shirt, gray jeans, and a hat. Even though they had stopped running quite some time ago, Tyler still couldn't get over the habit of wearing a hat wherever he went. In his hand was a brown coffee mug with orange juice in it. Tyler drank the juice as he stared up at the blinding sun.

"Hey, Ryan," someone greeted him. Ryan was the name Tyler had been going under for the past three months. He still wasn't used to it.

After a short second, Tyler looked over to his left to see his neighbor, Jen, coming out her house. She wore her dark brown hair back in a ponytail and sported a black sports bra and blue shorts. Clipped onto her shorts was an MP3 player. It looked like she was about to go jogging.

"Hey," Tyler replied, smiling. "Goin' out for a jog?"

"Yup," Jen answered. "Wanna join me?"

"Not really the running type," Tyler said, almost chuckling at himself.

Jen smiled back at Tyler; her blue eyes looked sharp and luscious in the gleaming sunlight. As she bent down to make sure her shoes were tied tightly, Tyler couldn't help but look at her stunning body. Running sure helped her a lot, he thought. Smiling to himself, Tyler almost felt ashamed.

Drinking from his mug again, Tyler asked, "What happened to that boyfriend of yours – Jake, was it?"

Jen shook her head and answered, "Don't even ask. I'm completely done with him."

"Really?" Tyler replied enthusiastically. Leaning towards Jen, Tyler made sure she knew he was intent on listening.

"Yeah. It got a little too – umm – stressful, I guess."

"Oh, what a shame," Tyler muttered.

Suddenly, the front door opened behind Tyler and Jay stuck his head out. He looked over at Jen and smiled; she waved back. Turning to Tyler with a harsh look on his face, Jay murmured, "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Yeah, what's up?" Tyler replied.

"In the house," Jay firmly stated.

A confused look crossed Tyler's face. He finished the rest of his orange juice and turned to Jen. "Talk to ya' later," he called. Jen waved bye to him as he entered the condo. As he closed the door behind him, he casually asked Jay, "So, what is it?"

"What happened to staying inconspicuous, huh, Tyler?" Jay questioned.

"What are you talkin' 'bout? It's just Jen," Tyler excused himself.

"See? That's what I'm saying!" Jay retorted. "You can't just put yourself out there for anyone to see, Tyler! Anyone can identify you."

"Well, let's see. I'm not exact on this, but, in the past three months, I believe I've come into contact with – what – a thousand people in this town," Tyler said sarcastically. Jay looked at him with an angry look. Tyler shrugged at him and added, "No one is going to notice us out of the blue like that, Jay! You need to stop being so paranoid all the time and loosen up a bit!"

"I'm just saying, it's best if we stay in the house unless we absolutely need to go out and get something," Jay replied.

"Yeah, that's realistic – three twenty-something's staying in their house twenty-four hours a day. Everybody's gonna buy that!" Tyler mocked. He turned to Jay with an exacerbated look and asked, "And what about Will, huh? How come I don't hear you goin' off on him all the time? He's always gone!"

"No one even knows what Will looks like! All the FBI has of him is a drawing!" Jay shouted.

With no response, Tyler just sighed and ran his hand through his dirty blonde hair. Crossing his arms over his chest, he said, "Whatever. Let's just forget about this, okay? Will should be back any minute now. When he does, we'll talk about going back."

Jay nodded in agreement and looked up at Tyler with a lighthearted look. "Hey, sorry I went off on you. It's just – "

"I get it. I get it," Tyler stopped him. He awkwardly smiled at Jay and rubbed his shoulder as he passed by him. Jay sighed and sat down on the arm of the couch, sighing.

Suddenly, the front door opened and Will walked in. Sighing, he placed the box of donuts on the boys' table. Tyler stopped in his tracks and turned to look at him as Jay lifted his head and stared at his friend. Will opened up the box of donuts and turned to his friends. He sat against the edge of the rectangular table and grabbed one of the donuts.

"What's new?" he asked, biting into the jelly-filled donut.

"You're not gonna believe what we saw on the news earlier," Jay cheerfully said as he walked over to the box of donuts. Grabbing a glazed donut, he continued, "They think we're in – "

"The Middle East," Will finished for him. "Yeah, I saw it too."

"Then what do you think?" Jay eagerly asked.

"What do you mean?" Will replied, confused about Jay's question. He bit into the sticky center of his donut, letting red jelly ooze out.

"We should go back right? Get back to finding the truth?" Jay suggested.

Will swallowed the piece of bread in his mouth and said, "It's too early."

"Thank you!" Tyler praised at the entrance of the hallway. He raised his arms up in rejoice and arched his back.

Jay made an annoyed sound with his wet lips and said, "Too early? We've been hiding for three months. They think we're in the Middle East for God's sake! If this isn't perfect then what is?"

"Just 'cause they say they think we're in the Middle East doesn't mean we can just stroll around the country wherever we please," Will replied. "You don't really think people forget that easily do you?"

"I'm just saying, they're not gonna post up too many updates or have our pictures up all over the place this time. Today's news report was the first I've seen in – what – two-three weeks," Jay said. "Please, Will, we need to finish this."

Will grabbed a napkin and wiped his sticky, sugary hands. Balling the napkin up, he sighed and stared Jay in the eyes. "We'll think about it. For now, just-just wait. Everything'll come into place sooner or later." Will patted Jay on the shoulder and walked over to where Tyler was. Tyler moved out of the way as Will headed down the hallway.

"By the time everything comes into place, she'll be dead," Jay shouted.

Will stopped and stared down at the gray carpet. He could feel Jay's pain, but he had more important matters to worry about than Kim. Will was a professional and he knew timing was imperative. Maybe in two more months they'd be ready to set out in search of the truth, but for now, he knew they wouldn't last more than a week or two outside. Placing his right palm on the wall, he muttered, "I'm sorry, Jay."

Will continued into his room while Jay angrily stared in his direction. Tyler looked back at him and shrugged. As much as he wanted to help and console his friend, Tyler knew they couldn't do anything about it. Jay, however, refused to back down. There was no way in hell he'd waste an opportunity like this. Hurrying into his room, he grabbed the heavy-duty black camping pack he had planned to use for their road trip. There was nothing inside it now. Reaching into his and Tyler's shared closet, he drew out a few of his own clothes and stuffed them into the backpack.

"What are you doing?" Tyler wanted to know as he entered the room. He leaned against the doorframe with his arms crossed as he watched Jay grab several other items from his closet and dresser.

"I'm leaving, Tyler," Jay quietly replied as he zipped up his backpack. Sticking his hand into his back pocket, he pulled out his black leather wallet and counted the bills inside. "I'm sorry, but I can't just stay here and wait a while longer. I've waited long enough. I'm not going to let this opportunity slip by!"

Tyler got off the doorframe and grabbed Jay by his shoulder. Turning his friend's body so he'd face him, Tyler urged, "Please, Jay, just listen to Will. He knows what he's talking about. He was a part of this. I trust that he knows how they think."

"We trusted Will when he told us to roller skate through the Drexler!" Jay burst, pushing up against Tyler. "If we didn't trust him then, then maybe we wouldn't even be in this mess!"

Reluctantly sighing, Tyler grabbed at his hair. Pleadingly, he said, "Please, Jay, you can't do this on your own."

"If you and Will aren't gonna help me," Jay began as he slung his backpack around his shoulder, "then I guess I'm going to have to, aren't I?"

Jay pushed passed Tyler and headed out to the living room. He was dressed in a white t-shirt, blue jeans, and a navy blue jacket with a hood. Picking up his Cubs hat off the top of their TV, Jay adjusted it on his forehead on his way out the door.

"Where do you think you're goin'?" Will suddenly asked from the hallway.

Without turning to him, Jay muttered, "You're not in control anymore, Will. I'm leaving."

"Jay –" Before Will could finish, Jay had exited the condo and slammed the door shut behind him. Will angrily sighed and cursed under his breath. Turning around, Will started for his bedroom, but ran into Tyler.

"What do we do?" Tyler asked him.

"Nothing. We sit and wait."

"What? But Jay – he's going out there on his own!"

"That's his decision. You wanna go with him, be my guest," Will replied.

"No, we have to help him!" Tyler said. "Will, we have to bring him back!"

"You know, Jay, he's hardheaded, but he's not stupid," Will answered. He paused for a second then grudgingly continued, "When he realizes this is more than he can handle alone, he'll be back."

"What if he dies?" Tyler worried. Will stared into Tyler's worried, fretful eyes and sighed listlessly.

The local supermarket was only a few minutes away from the condo so Jay reached it in no time. He had a small, blue basket filled with energy drinks, bags of chips, canned food, and whatever else he'd need for his journey. Shuffling several cans of tuna into the basket, he hurried to the nearest cash register and laid the basket down in front of the teenage boy standing there. The boy appeared to be in his adolescence; there were pimples across his face and his curly, red hair was messy and wrinkled like a bird's nest. He scanned Jay's items as Jay anxiously looked about.

"Twenty-two forty-five," the boy monotonously noted.

Jay reached into his wallet and drew out a twenty dollar bill and three dollars. He handed it to the boy and said, "Keep the change."

Picking up the two plastic bags, Jay quickly exited the supermarket and looked around in the tiny parking lot. Buckley Rock wasn't a particularly large town so there were quite a few people walking about. Jay had to be careful if he wanted to steal a car without anyone noticing. Opening his backpack, he found a small, black drill he'd taken from Will. Will had used it before to quickly unlock a car door. Jay had no clue how to use it, but it looked simple enough. All Will did after all was stick the drill into the keyhole and press the button and voila.

Nervously striding across the parking lot, Jay went over to a black sedan parked under the branches of a giant tree. It was covered and shaded and there were several cars around it so no one would notice Jay trying to pick the lock. His hand shaking, Jay reached the car and stuck the drill into the keyhole on the driver's side. He pressed the red, ridged button on the front of the drill and listened as the metal drill spun around and unlocked the door. A popping sound emanated from the door, but it wasn't enough to alarm anyone. Scanning his surroundings, Jay quickly jumped into the car and threw his backpack and grocery bags into the passenger seat. Leaning down under the steering wheel, Jay wrenched open the covering hiding the wires and pulled them out. This was one of the few times Jay thanked he had grown up in such a harsh neighborhood. Touching together two of the wires, Jay anxiously listened to the engine roar. Pumping his fist quietly in front of him, Jay sat up and shifted the car to Drive. Looking left and right, he made sure no one was around as he made his exit from the supermarket parking lot.

Unbeknownst to him, a black Chevrolet Suburban was parked off to the side of the street next to the sidewalk. Behind the tinted black windows sat a mysterious-looking man with short black hair and brown eyes. He appeared to be of Middle Eastern descent and had a semi-muscular body. He wore a gray t-shirt under a brown leather jacket and blue jeans. With an observant and attentive look on his face, he pulled onto the road and followed Jay down the street.

After several minutes of nervous driving, Jay finally reached the exit sign of town. The large, brown marquee read 'Now Leaving Buckley Rock – Hope You Had A Nice Stay'. Jay chuckled at the sign and determinedly drove off down the road. Luckily, there weren't that many cars entering or exiting Buckley Rock so there wasn't much chance of him being noticed in the stolen car. However, the black Suburban behind him had been going the same way for about ten or fifteen minutes already. Jay began to worry as he saw it turn down the empty highway behind him. Staring at the rearview mirror, he suspiciously watched the Suburban following close behind.

Without warning, the Suburban sped up and rammed the rear bumper of Jay's car. Jay's body flung forward and slammed into the steering wheel, honking the horn. The black sedan swerved along the gravel side of the road, but Jay managed to recollect himself and get back on the highway. However, the Suburban slammed into the back of his car once more.

"Son of a bitch," Jay mumbled under his breath as he quickly strapped his seatbelt on. Holding tightly to the steering wheel, Jay tried to maneuver out of the Suburban's way.

Relentlessly, the black Suburban sped forward and smashed the bumper of Jay's black sedan. The impact of the hit caused Jay's car to slide forward and ram into a speed limit sign. The sign fell over and Jay could feel the tires of his car run over it. His heart racing faster and faster, Jay turned the wheel and drove onto the field of dirt and sand to the side of the highway. The Suburban followed and raced after Jay through the brown field. With the sun shining high above them, the two black cars looked like ants running along the dirt mounds. Jay swerved out of the way as the Suburban attempted to ram into his side. The Suburban passed by and skidded to a stop as Jay turned back towards the highway. The driver of the Suburban shifted into Reverse then back to Drive and sped off after Jay. With the Suburban right behind him, Jay pressed the pedal down to the floor of the car. He watched as the needle on the speedometer rose up to one-hundred miles per hour. The car jumped up as it skidded back onto the highway.

As the Suburban raced after it, the driver didn't even notice the black Camaro charging at him. Barely a second left, the driver turned his head to watch the black Camaro smash into the side of the car. As small as the Camaro was, it packed quite a punch as it slammed into the side of the Suburban. The Suburban skidded along the road and spun out of control, landing in a ditch.

Jay spun his head around inside the black sedan and looked in awe at Will's '67 Camaro speeding towards him. Letting go of the gas pedal, Jay let the car slow down. As Will hit the brakes on his car, Jay parked his on the side of the road and hopped out. Will shifted the car to Park and stepped outside with Tyler following beside him.

"You guys came," Jay gasped as he staggered towards his friends.

"What? You didn't really think we'd let you have all the fun, did you?" Tyler sardonically asked. He smiled caringly at Jay, who flashed him a big smile back.

In between the two, Will glanced back and forth at them and quietly smiled to himself. It wasn't the time for a happy reunion. Will reached down at the leather holster attached to his belt and grabbed his familiar .45 USP. Aiming the black handgun before him, Will walked towards the black Suburban. Tyler and Jay followed close behind and watched as Will reached forward at the door. He ripped the driver's side door open and pointed the USP at the driver.

The Middle-Eastern man stared up at Will with a dumbfounded face. He looked like he had no idea what was going on or where he even was. Red liquid oozed out of the cut on the side of his forehead and dripped onto his lap. His head rested against the hard steering wheel while his right arm was twisted in a strange knot. Breathing heavily, he tried to lift himself up. Before he could, though, Will grabbed him by the collar and dragged him out of the Suburban. Tossing the driver's body onto the highway, Will aimed the gun at him and glared down at him.

"Who sent you?" Will demanded to know. The driver shook his head as he gasped for air. His fingers trembled as he attempted to reach for the gun at his side. Will stomped down on the hand, prompting the driver to scream out in pain. He waved the gun at the driver again and shouted, "I said, who sent you?!"

Still refusing to answer, the driver shook his head once more and gulped. His chest hopped up and down as he closed his eyes and groaned. Will cocked the gun and told the driver, "Last chance."

"You're already dead," the driver answered, peering into Will's bright blue eyes.

Will stared back at the driver before wordlessly pulling the trigger. With a jarring pop, the bullet shot out of the gun's barrel and into the driver's forehead. The man's head bobbed backwards and forwards for a split second before dropping onto the sizzling highway. Blood leaked out the driver's head, forming an odd puddle around him. Off to the side, Jay and Tyler gazed in a mixture of disgust and amazement at what Will had just done.

"You killed him," Jay muttered.

"I had to," Will coldly replied. He stuck the gun into his holster and looked back at his friends. "Remember, people are gonna die."

"But-but, we could've used him," Jay replied, pointing at the driver's dead body. "We could've gotten answers from him! Used him as a bargaining chip! Something!"

"No, we couldn't have, Jay! That guy wouldn't have answered any of our questions and he wouldn't have been any good as a bargaining chip. He's a pawn. There's a reason they're put in front," Will said.

Tyler gasped and breathed heavily. Blood was still oozing out the man's head; Tyler turned away and looked at Will. Jay joined him in looking down at Will. They expected him to give a detailed synopsis of their next move. However, all he stated, while staring down at the driver's dead body, was, "Hell of a way to start a road trip, huh?"

Upper East Side, Manhattan

Carlton Fog's penthouse in the Upper East Side was an extravagant apartment with an outdoor terrace, suede couches, a giant flat-screen TV, shelves of books, two luxurious bedrooms, and two swanky bathrooms with a shower and tub. Everything in the penthouse looked organized and kept in place. Books were lined up across the bookshelf and a few magazines were stacked on top of one another at the corner of an antique coffee table in the middle of the living room. The carpet was freshly clean and there didn't appear to be a speck of dust anywhere.

Standing in front of the mirror in one of the bathrooms was Carlton Fog's son, Gabriel Fog, the man who had been standing before him at the hospital in his uniform. Replacing the uniform was a dark gray t-shirt and blue denim jeans. Gabriel strapped a shoulder holster around his left shoulder and attached another holster to his belt. He stuck a Colt M1911 in the holster on his belt and a small, Glock 30 in the shoulder holster. Grabbing the black jacket hung on the towel hanger, Gabriel slipped his arms through the sleeves and adjusted the collar.

Taking a deep breath, Gabriel looked at himself in the mirror. His short brown hair shone oddly under the luminescent light of the bathroom. It was short, but not buzzed like most army officers' haircuts. Instead, it looked shaggy and slightly disheveled. Observing himself with his shiny blue eyes, Gabriel wondered if he could really do as his father asked. His eyes ran down the side of the mirror and latched onto the reflection of the gun at his waist. With a slender, callous finger, Gabriel felt the cold, rough handle of the gun.

New York FBI Field Office

Riding up the elevator yet again was Allison Chambers. In one hand, she held a bag of Chinese takeout and in the other was her cellphone. Repeatedly dialing her father's number, she hoped to get a hold of him. Unfortunately, five tries was enough to make her quit. Stuffing the phone into her pocket, Allison stepped out of the elevator as the door slid open. She walked through the bullpen and over to her father's office. There was no one inside.

"Hey, Allison," a female, Asian agent said from behind.

Allison turned and smiled at the woman. "Hey, Val, do you know where my father is? I brought him some dinner." She raised the bag of takeout boxes up to the agent and smiled.

"Oh, Agent Chambers is out on the field right now," the woman, Valerie, answered. "He'll probably be back soon, though. You can just wait in his office."

"Oh, no, I gotta go in a minute. I'll just leave the food in his office I guess," Allison replied.

Valerie nodded and said, "Okay," as she started across the bullpen.

Allison opened the door to Chambers' office and entered. The door slid to a close behind her as she placed the plastic bag on her father's desk. She moved aside several of his papers so they wouldn't get stained by the boxes of food. Reaching across the desk, Allison grabbed a pen so she could write a note for her dad. None of the papers around his desk seemed to be blank so she was forced to scavenge for her own piece.

Pushing aside Chambers' revolving chair, Allison crouched on her knees and looked under her father's desk for any piece of paper she could write on. She looked through the stacks and baskets of paper under his desk, but they all appeared to have some sort of vital information on them. Opening the drawer on the side of his desk, Allison finally found a stack of blank printer paper. Smiling, she reached in and pulled out a piece of paper. As she drew her hand back, she accidentally knocked a file folder out of the drawer.

As she set the piece of printer paper on the desk, she looked down at the folder and picked it up. Before she slid it back into the drawer, she noticed the label on the flap. It read: Drexler Bombing. A bright smile lit up Allison's face. She was studying to become a journalist and her upcoming report, which was due in a few weeks, was about the Drexler Bombing. Hopefully, she thought, she'd be able to get some scoop out of her father so her report would earn a rather high grade.

Cautiously looking around to make sure no one was peeking into the room, Allison bit her lower lip and slowly eased the folder open. The first two pages had profiles and photos on Jay Burchell and Tyler Fog. They looked like two ordinary guys; they didn't look like the type to be caught up in some terrorist acts. But with people these days, it was pretty hard to know all the facts. Allison fingered through the rest of the pages and found a copy made of a sketch. The drawing was of Will Traveler. Allison had seen it several times before on the news. Whoever the drawing was of, she knew that person was considered as an accomplice of Burchell and Fog. So far, nothing Allison found was of high value or importance. With her father as the agent in charge of the investigation, she hoped to find more on the Drexler Bombing.

The determined little girl she was, though, Allison refused to quit and continued sifting through the files in the manila folder. The next page she found was a blueprint of the Drexler Museum with an area of the building circled and scribbled beside it: blast radius. Though she hadn't seen it posted on the news or anywhere, it still wasn't anything to jump about.

Moving towards the back of the papers, Allison found one that looked quite intriguing. It was a profile on a young man around the same age as her. It read at the top: Will Traveler. Under his name was a picture of Will and beside it were his stats, such as his height, weight, age, DOB, and blood type among other things. Stapled onto the back of the profile were several pieces of paper, about four in fact. Allison flipped through them and read what she could. Most of the writing was black out by thick, black ink. Even when she put it to the light, she couldn't read what was underneath. Quickly shuffling to the front of the folder, Allison snatched the sketch of Will Kim had drawn and placed it side by side with the profile's picture. Though it wasn't pronounced, the resemblance between the two was uncanny. A quizzical and confused look came over Allison's face.

"What the hell?" she mumbled.

Elsewhere, the flicker of a small TV mutedly lit up the dark living room of a tiny, cramped apartment that had no other lights on. At the small couch in front of the TV sat a woman in a black sweater and gray sweatpants. In her hand was the remote for the TV. She pressed on the volume button and watched as the green dots along the bottom of the screen increased in number.

"Good evening America," the voice on the TV recited. It belonged to a man with balding black hair and green eyes – President Shears. "Although another month has gone without any semblance of justice for what was done to our beloved Drexler, I am here to assure you that we will not rest until these criminals, these traitors, are brought to justice. Jay Burchell, Tyler Fog, and Will Traveler will have to face the scales one day, whether that be before myself or before God…"

The woman at the couch stood up and sighed. She headed off across the living room and walked over to a drawer sitting against the dark wall. There was a small lamp beside it, which she turned on by pulling on the string hanging from it. The dim light burst to life, illuminating the sprawling board pinned up to the wall. Stuck to the board were various newspaper clippings, magazine articles, post-it notes, and scraps of paper. Though they all looked disorderly and unruly, they were all focused on one thing: the Drexler Bombing. At the center of the board were the profiles of Jay Burchell and Tyler Fog and the photograph of Will Traveler from Boston Hall. There were pieces of string connecting them to nearly every piece of paper on the board. Off to the side was a picture of Guillermo Borjes and Otis Whaley linked to a photograph of Fred Chambers, whose picture was connected to Joseph's. The woman picked up a small newspaper clipping she had laid on the drawer from before and pinned it up to the wall with a red pin.

Standing back to look at her work, the woman inhaled deeply and rubbed her exhausted eyes. It had been a while since she'd gotten a good night's rest. With the dim light cast over her, Jan Marlow reached over and turned the lamp off.

Somewhere in Central America

Sitting in the corner in a cell of a dank, dreary Central American prison was a young woman with dark brown hair. Her shaggy, disheveled hair was stringy and looked as if it hadn't been washed in weeks. It covered most of her face with some strands sticking out like thin fingers. Her once beautiful face was smeared with dried blood and dirt and her lower lip had a cut alongside it. There was another cut along the side of her forehead. Her slender body was dressed in a tattered off-white shirt and a thin pair of matching pants that had a hole on the right knee. The young woman shivered and held her body close to her as she lay on the cold, damp ground. Her fingers had become rough and callous and her feet were dry and scarred along the heel.

The cell she was in was dark and lit by a single light bulb hanging above her that flickered one and off constantly. The walls of the cell were grimy and plagued with dirt and blood while the floor was slightly wet with water. Across the cell was a small, metal table with a metal chair beside it. At another corner of the cell was a small, circular, aluminum dish with scraps of foot left in it. There were bread crumbs and small pieces of chicken left inside. Beside it was a small, empty cup that was knocked over.

In her corner, the young woman listened to the clanging of the metal door ring through the tiny cell. The large, heavy door slid open with a creak and closed with a bang as a tall, imposing man entered. The man had short, dark brown hair and had a beard. He was wearing a black muscle shirt and blue jeans. In his right hand was a briefcase, which he set on the metal table.

"Are you ready to talk yet, Ms. Doherty?" the man asked as he pulled out the chair.

Turning to him, the young woman looked up with her gleaming blue eyes. Behind all the dirt, scars, and bruises, it was still Kim behind the disguise. Gulping, she crawled backwards against the cold wall. The bearded man glared at her and shook his head.

"I'm sorry about this, Ms. Doherty," he said dully.

Kim began shaking her head and groaning as the man opened his briefcase. With her long, uncut fingernails, she began clawing at the wall, trying to find somewhere to escape to. The bearded man slipped his hands into a pair of latex gloves and strode across the cell over to where Kim was. She began screaming as he grabbed her by the hair and dragged her away.

Soleri, AZ – Nine Years Ago

Standing outside a two-story condominium was a tall, heavily-built man and a brown-haired woman with an army green SUV parked beside them. The trunk of the SUV was propped open, as was the passenger side door. The sun beaming down on the two was dry and arid as was the usual case. The brown-haired woman had on a thin, white sweater and blue jeans. The man standing before her was wearing a navy blue button-down shirt with a pair of khakis. Hanging from the chest pocket of the man's shirt was a pair of black sunglasses.

"Thanks for helping with this, David," the woman said, smiling at the man. "If it wasn't for you, me and Stephen wouldn't even have any of this."

"You don't have to thank me," David replied. He smiled back at the woman and rubbed her shoulders with his hands. "My brother messed up badly. It's the least I could do."

"No, no it's not," the woman replied. She chuckled and said, "This is way more than the least you could have done for us. I'm sorry if we were ever any trouble to you."

Smiling, David retorted, "Oh, no! No! You and Stephen were never a trouble. I've loved getting to know you guys."

The woman smiled and shook her head. "I never thought Stephen would be going off to the Marines," she muttered. "He was quite a handful, but…"

David put a hand on the woman's shoulder and said, "It'll be alright, Carissa. They'll take good care of him. And I'll make sure everything goes smoothly."

Carissa turned to David and smiled as tears came down her eyes. She put her arms around David's upper body and embraced him tightly. David chuckled and wrapped Carissa in his arms lovingly. He patted the back of her head and kissed her on the forehead. As the two embraced, the front door of the condo opened and a young man with short, brown hair and blue eyes stepped out. It was Will.

He was wearing a white t-shirt, jeans, and a gray jacket. Slung around his right shoulder was a black duffel bag. With a smile on his face, Will walked up to David and Carissa, who released each other and smiled at him. Tearfully laughing, Carissa reached forward and embraced Will. Will bit his lower lip and smiled slightly as he pulled Carissa closer to his chest.

"I'll miss you, Mom," he muttered.

"I'll miss you too, Stephen," Carissa mumbled against Will's shoulder. "You take good care of yourself, alright?"

"I will, Mom," Will replied. "You don't have to worry about anything." As he embraced his mother, Will looked up at David and nodded at him. David smiled and slipped his arm around Will and Carissa. "Thanks for everything, Uncle David."

David replied with a nod and took Will's duffel bag from him. He tossed it into the back of his SUV while Will and his mother exchanged sad goodbyes. Standing alone, Will and his mother held each others hands and smiled at one another with shining eyes. Carissa let go of Will's right hand and caressed his cheek.

"You've grown up so much," she stuttered.

"C'mon, Mom. You know like this kinda stuff," Will replied, chuckling.

Carissa laughed and hugged Will once again. "I'll miss you."

"Mom, c'mon, I'm going to the Marines. I'm not dying. I'll be back to see you in a few months," Will said.

Carissa nodded and let go of her son. Will backed away from his mother and leaned into his uncle's car. He sat in the seat and shut the door behind him. Rolling the window down, he waved goodbye at his mother and watched her tears fall to the ground as David stepped on the gas pedal. The army green raced away down the street as Will stared out the window.

"You ready for this, Stephen?" David asked his nephew.

Will tapped his fingers against the dashboard and looked at the long road ahead of him. A rueful smile crossed his face and he looked up at his uncle. "Yeah, I think I am."

Buckley Rock, CO

Will's black '67 Camaro sped down the empty highway, surrounded on both sides by plains of dirt and sand. Inside the car, Will held onto the steering wheel with his left hand while Tyler sat in the passenger seat, leaning against the door as Jay sat complacent in the back seat. Jay and Tyler watched stolidly as everything they'd known for the past three months zipped passed them. In his seat, Tyler stared into the side mirror outside his window and looked at Jay. Jay appeared quiet, but determined and ready to take on whatever was coming their way. He leaned against the back window of the car and looked outside at the side mirror. His eyes caught Tyler's and they exchanged deliberate glances. As he turned down the curving road, Will stared straight forward at the stretch of highway before him. The sun was beginning to set over the desolate highway; the sky was beginning to blacken as the sun hid behind the growing mass of clouds above. A threateningly dark shadow cast itself over the black car as it raced down the steadily long, winding road.


	10. Chapter 10: The Return

Guest Starring

Frank Mills…………………Chiwetel Ejiofor

Nicole Rex………………….Rose Byrne

Lawrence Hodge………….Idris Elba

Felicia Cruz………………...Lynda Boyd

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**Chapter 10: The Return**

The yellow beams of the Camaro's headlights guided the car down a lonely, winding highway bordered by sloping, jagged valleys on either side. There were no other lights of any kind around the empty roadway. The only thing lighting up the highway was the shining, white moon hanging above the dreary, purple sky. Surrounded by the low rumble of the engine and the grinding revolutions of the tires, Will followed the curving road a little longer. A quarter mile ahead of them was a tall, decrepit sign that read 'Motel Demore' in neon red lights. Under it was a sign indicating the motel still had a few vacancies.

Will turned around to find Jay and Tyler had both fallen asleep. Turning into the small parking lot of the motel, he shut the car's engine off and unlocked the doors. He shook Tyler by the shoulder, prompting him to awaken. In the backseat, Jay's eyes fluttered open and he joined his friends in stepping out the car. The air was chilly and there was a slight breeze passing by.

"Why'd we stop?" Jay asked, rubbing his right eye.

"We got a long road ahead of us," Will said as he led the boys to the motel office. "You can't expect us to go through without a little shuteye, do you?"

"Guess not," Jay sighed.

Following Will into the motel office, Jay looked around the small room to find a short man sitting behind the counter. There was a small painting of a beautiful lake behind him, but that was basically the only thing decorating the office. Everything else seemed pretty simple; there was a desk, a couple chairs, and a tiny table placed in front of the chairs.

The man behind the counter looked up at Will, who faked a smile at him. "Need a room?" the man asked as he leaned forward.

"Yup, three beds," Will grumbled.

The man reached under his desk and grabbed a silver key hanging alongside at least a dozen more. He slapped it on the desk, but held onto it. "That's gonna be twenty-seven bucks." Grabbing his wallet, Will pulled out a twenty and a ten. He handed them to the man, who slipped the money into his pocket and pulled out three dollars in change. As the man handed Will back his three bucks, he said, "Log in here."

Will picked up a black pen on the desk and wrote down a name on log in sheet the man slid towards him. The name read 'Aaron Smithee'. He penned in the time as well then slid the clipboard back to the man. "That all?"

"Yup. You have a good stay," the man said before slouching back into his chair.

Nodding to the man, Will grabbed the silver key and walked out the office. Attached to the key was a card with the number eighteen printed onto it. Walking back to his car, Will unlocked the doors and grabbed his stuff. Turning to Jay and Tyler, he said, "Grab your stuff."

Tyler reached in and pulled out his and Jay's backpacks. He threw Jay's backpack to him and slammed the passenger side door shut. All three boys walked up to Room 18, where Will used the key to unlock the door. Stepping inside, they all began to set their bags on the floor and on chairs. Still tired, Tyler immediately stalked towards a bed and plopped himself down on it. Meanwhile, Jay set his backpack on the floor and slumped into a chair.

"What's our plan?" Jay wanted to know.

While Jay seemed intent on forming a plan, Tyler, on the other hand, didn't appear as adamant. He rubbed his eyes and stretched his arms out as he jokingly replied, "Get some sleep."

Smiling wryly, Will sat on the edge of another bed and looked at his two friends. "The Fourth Branch," he muttered.

"What?" Tyler asked, confused.

"We go after the Fourth Branch," Will answered.

"Are you kidding me? That's crazy, Will! We can't take them on by ourselves!" Tyler replied. He suddenly appeared awake and jolted by Will's words.

"We don't take them on," Jay interjected. "We find out what they are; who they are; what they do."

"Exactly," Will said. Clasping his hands together, he added, "The Fourth Branch is apparently behind everything that's happened so far. We expose them, we expose the truth… about everything."

"How can we expose them?" Tyler asked. "We don't know a thing about them."

Will looked unwaveringly at Tyler and said, "When you want answers as badly as we want them, you find ways."

New York FBI Field Office

Entering a room filled with video monitors were Fred Chambers and a medium-built African-American man who was of regular height. The African-American man had short, close-shaven black hair and brown eyes; he had a square jaw and a pronounced brow. The bored expression on his face suggested he didn't feel at all like being there right now. He wore a nicely pressed outfit consisting of a dark gray blazer with matching slacks and a white collar shirt and black tie underneath. Attached to the black leather belt around his waist was a holster for his 10 mm and his FBI badge. Walking alongside him, Agent Chambers was dressed in a navy blue suit with a white button-down shirt underneath and a charcoal gray tie.

Sitting around the room in revolving chairs were lowly FBI agents with headsets wrapped around their heads and the sides of their faces. They all came to a halt as soon as Chambers walked in the room. Chambers pointed up at the gigantic screen in front of them and ordered, "Bring that monitor up. We have a call coming through."

As an agent sitting in front of the monitor began typing away on the keyboard at his fingers, a short woman with long, brunette hair walked in. The female agent had a lean, slender body with brunette hair that went down past her shoulders and curled at the ends. She had hazel-colored eyes that stared up at the giant monitor as it buzzed to life with the image of a tall, Caucasian man with light brown hair and blue eyes. The man stared into the screen as he cleared his throat.

"What's happening?" the female agent asked the African-American man as she snuck behind Chambers.

"Denver Field Office says they have something for us," the agent answered.

"About what?" the female agent questioned. Her comrade shrugged at her and looked up at the monitor as the agent at the keyboard gave Chambers the thumbs-up.

Chambers nodded and pressed a button on the side of the control panel, which sat near the agent. "We're ready on our side, Agent Kingsley. You may begin."

The agent on the screen nodded and said, "At approximately seven-fifteen o'clock PM MST, local PD in Buckley Rock, Colorado found the body of a deceased male on Highway 19. Beside the body, crashed into a ditch, was a black Suburban – license plate 645-TNO – while across the street was a parked, abandoned black sedan – license plate 310-FPT. Deceased male was between the ages twenty-five and thirty and was of Middle-Eastern descent. The ID we found on him was fake and so far, we have no matches in our databases for his picture."

"Excuse me, but what does this have to do with any of our cases up here?" the African-American agent with Chambers interrupted. Chambers turned to him and glared. Shrugging his shoulders, the agent looked back at him brashly.

"Agent Mills, we searched both cars for usable prints. Do you know what we found on the black sedan?" Agent Kingsley asked with a stern expression.

"No, what?" Mills replied. The female agent beside Mills was just as confused and curious as he was. Both leaned forward and listened closely to what Kingsley was going to say.

Agent Kingsley stared back at the three agents on his screen and bluntly stated, "We found fingerprints identically matching the fingerprints of one of your suspects in the Drexler Bombing – Jay Burchell."

Denver, CO

At seven o'clock the next morning, the sun was already high in the blue sky. Though the orange beams rained down on the city of Denver, there were still quite a few clusters of clouds in the sky. It was rush hour so many cars sped up and down the busy streets. A light rail car passed through an empty street with only a handful of passengers inside it. Across the street, the street light turned to 'Walk', allowing a young woman with her Labrador to walk through. Coming from behind, a biker whizzed by.

Following behind the light rail car a few seconds later was Will's black Camaro. The digital clock on the dashboard changed to 7:01 as Will passed under a green light. Beside him, Jay was asleep and in the back seat, Tyler slouched back with his arms crossed against his chest and his eyes shut. Will signaled to the right and parked alongside a sidewalk in front of a parking meter. Slapping Jay and Tyler on the chests, Will motioned for them to get up.

Although the boys' appearances had changed, they knew they still had to be careful. Will wore a dark brown shirt with an unzipped gray hoodie and blue jeans. Jay was clothed in an army green track jacket that was zipped up to his neck. Underneath it, he wore a plain white shirt and a pair of jeans. Tyler, on the other hand, was wearing a white jacket and black t-shirt with a pair of dark gray jeans. On his head, he wore a gray baseball cap.

Will unlocked the two doors and stepped out his car while Jay opened his own door. Pulling on a lever under the chair, Jay moved his seat forward so Tyler could get out. Standing outside a tiny internet café, the three boys rubbed their tired eyes and exhaustedly yawned. It was approximately twelve hours since they left Buckley Rock. Stretching his arms, Will strode over to the sidewalk and looked at the neon 'OPEN' sign hanging in the front window of the internet café.

"What are we doing here, Will?" Jay moaned.

"We have to find somebody."

"Who?" Tyler asked as he covered his mouth to yawn.

"A man named Lawrence Hodge," Will answered. He walked up to the front door of the café and opened it.

"Never heard of him," Tyler replied as he followed Will into the building. "Who is he?"

"An old friend."

"Will he be able to help us?" Jay eagerly asked as the door closed behind him.

"We'll find out, won't we?" Will replied. He walked up to the front counter and tapped his fingers on the counter. The young man sitting behind the register looked like he was about to fall over. His eyes were closed and his arms were crossed against his chest as his body heaved up and down with each breath. "Hey."

The young man jolted up suddenly and grabbed at his head to keep his hat from falling off. Groaning, he looked at Will and asked, "How may I help ya'?"

"We'd like to use one of your computers," Will answered.

"Five bucks an hour," the young man muttered as he rubbed his red eyes.

"Alright," Will replied as he walked over to the rows of computers set across the shop. Jay and Tyler followed him and sat behind him as he turned on one of the computers.

Will waited for the computer to load and double-clicked a blue and orange icon on the desktop. A few seconds later, a window for the internet finally popped up on the screen and he typed into the address bar at the top, the URL for a website called Dex. Navigating through the website, Will found a page that would allow him to search for Lawrence Hodge. Entering the man's name into the search boxes provided, he clicked on the green button labeled 'SEARCH' and waited for the results to load.

Denver, CO – Six Years Ago

A tall, African-American man sat in a brown, leather chair in his office of the Bundy Cup headquarters. Bundy Cup was the brand name of a line of disposable paper cups; it wasn't a very well-known brand, but it had its fair share of buyers. The opaque door leading into the man's office was labeled with the name 'Lawrence Hodge' at its center. Under that were the words 'Regional Sales Manager'. Outside Hodge's office was a short, skinny woman with her black hair in a bun sitting behind an old, wooden desk. Beside the door was a row of chairs, one of which was occupied by a young Will Traveler.

Dressed in a light blue button-down shirt, black slacks, and a black blazer, Will sat idly while fumbling with his fingers. Although he was dressed in quite elegant clothes, Will looked anything but. His dark brown hair was short and slicked back, he had stubbles around his jaw, and his eyes looked tired and exhausted. Will tapped both sets of fingers against one another as he waited to be let into Hodge's office.

"You can go in now," the secretary told him as she set down the phone.

Will quickly bounced to his feet and took a deep breath. He opened the door to Lawrence Hodge's office and stepped inside. Hodge was a largely imposing man whose muscles seemed to be popping out from under his dark blue blazer. His head was shaved, but he had mustache around his mouth. A pair of wire-framed glasses sat atop his wide nose. Through them, he could see Will's agitated body walk slowly over to him.

"Hello, sir. My name's – "

"Stephen Mailer," Hodge finished for him. Shaking Will's tiny hands, Hodge added, "I've read a lot about you. You're pretty young to be a recruit."

Will faked an appreciative smile and said, "You can thank my uncle for that."

Hodge pointed his hand at one of the two seats in front of him and told Will, "Please, take a seat."

Will sat down in the brown chair and smiled uneasily at his new boss. Licking his dry lips, Will started looking around the room, observing every little thing there. To his left was a shelf full of books that appeared unread. Behind Hodge were filing cabinets; above them was a single picture frame of Hodge and a family. There appeared to be nothing else in the room. The walls were freshly painted white and the carpet looked fairly clean. Aside from the bookshelf and the cabinets, there was nothing else adorning the office.

"Are you a little uneasy, Stephen?" Hodge asked. He had noticed Will's apprehensiveness since he first stepped through the door.

Will shook his head and muttered, "No, sir."

"You sure?" Hodge asked.

"Yes, sir."

Hodge glowered at Will and looked him straight in the eyes. "Don't lie to me," he said in a menacing tone.

"I wouldn't sir," Will replied, his hands beginning to shake. He didn't want to show weakness, so he tried his best to calm down and stay still. "I'm just… tired."

"You're lying," Hodge said with a smile. Slouching back in his chair, Hodge folded his hands together before him and asked, "Do you lie a lot, Stephen?"

"No, sir," Will replied more calmly.

Nodding, Hodge said, "Good. Good. Can you tell when someone is lying?"

"Not particularly," Will answered.

Leaning forward, Hodge stared directly into Will's face. He could practically bore a hole into Will's eyes with his looming glance. "When you're as good as me, you can practically feel when someone is lying. Their eyes move around the room, their tones shift, their bodies shake. But not everyone has these certain tells. Some people can effectively disguise these tells. When you're as good as me, though, you just know when someone's lying."

"What are you trying to say, sir?"

"Nothing," Hodge replied, leaning back. "Just giving you a piece of advice. Make sure that's burned into your head. It's one of our standards around here."

The screen finally finished loading. There were two matches all together in the city of Denver. Will grabbed a piece of paper from the small stack beside the computer and took a pen out of his black backpack. He scribbled the two addresses and phone numbers onto the piece of paper and shut off the computer.

"C'mon, let's go," Will said to his friends.

Together, the three friends got up and left the café. Will pulled out a five-dollar bill and slapped it on the front counter as they exited. Outside, they walked to the edge of the street to a payphone. Dropping in a few quarters, Will dialed one of the numbers he'd written down.

"Hello?" the woman asked in a soft, tired voice.

"Hi, may I speak with Lawrence," Will replied.

"May I ask who this is?"

"Just tell him it's an old friend."

"Okay. I'll be right back," the woman said.

A few seconds later, a man came on the other end and asked in an old, raspy voice, "This is Lawrence." Immediately, Will hung up the phone.

"Well?" Jay asked.

Will showed him the piece of paper and said, "We've got an address."

Staten Island, NY

A loud German Shepard barked outside of a two-story, white and brown house that was lined by perfectly cut hedges and a nicely mowed lawn. The dog's owner tugged at its leash, forcing it to follow him up the quiet, friendly neighborhood. Inside the home was Allison Chambers. Wearing a light blue tank top and black shorts, she carried a laptop in her arms over to the kitchen table. The small, circular table sat beside the sliding glass door that led to the backyard. Atop the table was a bowl of milk with a box of cereal beside it.

Yawning, Allison set the laptop beside her bowl and opened the flap on the top of the cereal box. Unfolding the bag inside, she tipped the box over, dropping tiny corn flakes into the pool of cool, white milk. With a large silver spoon, she scooped up a bunch of corn flakes and stuffed them into her mouth. At the same time, she pressed the power button on her laptop. As she crunched down on the cereal, she waited for her computer to finish loading.

What Allison had found out the night before was still stuck in her head. Allison couldn't let go of the fact that her father apparently withheld information. It wasn't standard procedure to withhold vital information, especially information about the suspects. Maybe, she hoped, she just never realized they sent out the information about Traveler. However, Allison was pretty confident that she would've known about him if the FBI had released that information.

Once her laptop finished loading, Allison double-clicked on the orange and blue icon at the top left corner of her screen. She stuffed another mouthful of corn flakes into her mouth and chewed down on them with her pristine white teeth. With one hand, she typed Will's name into the search box and pressed 'Search'. Over nine-million results popped up. The first couple pages were concerned about the Drexler Bombing accomplice, but the rest seemed to either be about travel channels or some other random thing. Allison clicked on the first result, but the website that popped up only showed the sketch she had become familiar with. Scrolling down, she skimmed through the article to see if anything she'd read in her dad's file folder was in the article. Nothing.

"Hmm," Allison hummed as she went back to the results. She clicked on the second link and searched through the article as she chomped down on cereal. Again, she found nothing. Going back to the search bar, Allison typed in 'Will Traveler, October 13, 1961'. It was a wild guess, but Allison hoped that she could at least find his birth date in any of the news articles. Approximately one-million eight-thousand entries appeared, but none of them actually featured Will. Leaning back in her chair, Allison dropped her spoon into the bowl and looked out the glass door with a wondering look.

Buckley Rock, CO

Agent Mills stood outside city hall with a stack of fliers in one hand. With his other hand, he handed out a flier to each person that passed by. A man in a yellow t-shirt walked passed Mills, prompting him to snatch the flier on top of the stack and hand it to him. The man stared down at the flier as he walked away. Printed on the fliers was Jay's photograph with his name underneath. Above the picture was the question, 'Have you seen this man?'. At the very bottom of the page were two FBI hotlines – one for Denver and one for New York.

"Sheriff says he's possibly seen Burchell around before. He supposedly looks a lot different, though," Chambers angrily muttered as he walked up to Mills.

"What's he supposedly look like now?" Mills asked.

"Longer hair, clean-shaven," Chambers answered.

"That's it?" Mills replied as he handed two fliers out to a pair of girls walking by. "You're tellin' me none of these hicks down here recognized Burchell from all the times his mug was put on TV?"

Chambers nodded disappointedly and walked over to his and Mill's black car. He opened the passenger side door and looked over at Mills. "Sheriff said he'll get his men to hand out the fliers around town."

"Where are we goin'?" Mills asked with a perplexed look on his face.

"Sheriff also said he saw Burchell and two others around a local bar once in a while," Chambers revealed.

"Good," Mills sighed as he walked to the driver's side. "I could use a drink," he mumbled.

After driving for about ten minutes, Mills and Chambers reached a bar called Solomon's Key. Mills parked on the sidewalk and he and Chambers strode into the bar. Considering it was fairly early still, the bar was quite empty; there was only one other person there aside from the bartender.

"What can I get ya'?" the bartender, a middle-aged man with brown hair, asked cheerfully as Chambers and Mills walked up to his counter.

Chambers flashed him his badge and said, "Special Agent Chambers. I need to ask you a few questions."

The bartender nodded and replied in a startled voice, "Go ahead."

Chambers reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. He unfolded it and slid it over to the bartender. "You recognize this guy?"

The bartender stared at Jay's photo for a while. His eyes squinted and his brow furrowed a bit as he scanned the picture. Sighing, he said, "Sort of. I can't really tell if it's him, though."

"What did this person you're thinking of look like?" Chambers asked.

"His hair was kinda long," the bartender answered. "Couldn't really see his face 'cause his hair kinda hung over it."

"Did you see this guy a lot?"

"Not really. He'd turn up with these two other guys maybe once or twice a month," the bartender informed Chambers. "All they ever ordered were beers. Pretty quiet too. They never caused any trouble, always stayed by themselves in a booth."

"Thank you," Chambers said. The bartender nodded and turned away from them. Turning to Mills, Chambers asked, "What do you think?"

"I think they were here," Mills replied. "Question is: where."

"Oh, hey, I just remembered somethin'!" the bartender shouted as he hurried over to Chambers. Chambers and Mills both turned their attention towards the man and listened closely. "They always came together in a car – a black '67 Camaro, I think it was."

"A '67 Camaro?" Chambers repeated.

"Yup."

Nodding, Chambers grabbed Mills and dragged him out of the bar. Outside on the sidewalk, he grabbed his cellphone and dialed a number. Mills turned to him with a confused look and asked, "Who are you calling?"

Chambers raised a finger to quiet him and said, "Agent Rex, this is Chambers. I need you to check how many registered black 1967 Chevrolet Camaros are owned by residents of Buckley Rock, Colorado."

At the Field Office in New York, the beautiful brunette from the video room sat at her desk in front of a computer. Agent Rex was wearing a purple blouse under a black jacket and slacks. "Got it," she said into her cellphone. She dropped the pen in her hand onto the table after scribbling down the information Chambers had relayed to her.

Long Beach, CA

Felicia Cruz sat alone at the circular table in the dining room of her tiny home. It was a one-story house with a one-car garage and a small backyard. Felicia was dressed in a baby blue robe as she sipped on her mug of hot coffee. Across from her, there was another mug of coffee, the steam still filing out of it. As Felicia stared at the white wall of her dining room with a morose look on her face, the sound of a toilet flushing came from around the corner. The sound of rushing water mixed with the swirling toilet and seconds later, the door to the bathroom opened.

Looking up from her stupor, Felicia stared up at Gabriel Fog's intense, blue eyes. He was wearing a white button-down shirt and blue jeans with a heavy, brown jacket. Wiping his wet hands across his pant legs, he strode over to the dining table. Sliding down into his chair, he looked over at Felicia with a smile.

"Is everything alright, Ms. Cruz?" he asked her.

"Oh, yeah. Yeah, I'm okay," Felicia replied. "I'm just a little confused. What's this firm you work for again?"

"It's a crisis management firm – Fallbrook Dunn. Basically, we take care of others' problems, make them go away, make things a little easier," Gabriel said. Clearing his throat, he added, "A client of ours is in need of your son's help."

"What could my son do to help one of your clients?" Felicia asked, more confused than ever.

"That's private information, ma'am, I'm sorry," Gabriel replied. Smiling back at Felicia, he asked, "Anyways, may we continue the interview? There's only a few more I need to ask."

Reluctantly nodding, Felicia whispered, "Okay."

"Do you know anywhere your son would hide? Any friends? Relatives? Anybody?"

"No, I don't think so. Jay was never really close to family. After his father died, he had no connection to Tom's side of the family. And Jay and I – we never were that close so my relatives are out of the question. Really, his friends were all he had and last I heard, they're with him right now."

"Kim Doherty," Gabriel said, "what about her?"

Felicia shrugged her shoulders and shook her head. "I haven't heard from her in three months. I have no clue where she could be."

"What about his friends – Tyler Fog and Will Traveler? Do you know anything about them?" Gabriel questioned.

Shaking her head, Felicia answered, "No, not really. Like I said, we were never that close. The last time I saw Jay was before he left for Yale. I called him a few times, but he only mentioned Tyler and Will once in a while. Not enough to know where they could be right now."

"I understand," Gabriel nodded. "When the Drexler Bombing occurred, did he ever contact you?"

"No," Felicia replied. "I didn't expect him to anyways."

"Did you contact him?"

Instantly, Felicia's eyes shot up and stared at Gabriel. "No."

Nodding, Gabriel stood up and said, "Okay. I believe that's all the help I can get here. If anything turns up, call me at this number." Gabriel slid a small card over to Felicia and started for the door. Before he could leave, though, Felicia stopped him.

"I don't know why you're after my son," she started, "but I can assure you now that whatever he did or whatever your client wants him for, it's not his fault. Jay's a good kid; he's intelligent, kind-hearted. We may have never seen eye-to-eye, but Jay's a great person. He didn't do whatever everyone's saying he did."

"I never accused him of anything, Ms. Cruz," Gabriel replied.

"Good," Felicia muttered.

Gabriel wryly smiled at her as he held the front door open. Nodding one last time, he stepped out the house and disappeared down the driveway.

Denver, CO

Will parked the Camaro outside of a sprawling, thirty-story, high-rise apartment building in downtown Denver. The gray building stood tall, but looked puny amongst the other towering structures around it. Up and down the street walked pedestrians of all walks of life. Jay, Tyler, and Will blended in perfectly with all the people scrambling around the street. They headed for the apartment building and walked straight towards the elevators. At the front counter of the building sat a man with blonde hair in a red outfit with gold trimming. He sat in front of several monitors and a computer while sitting back in his chair, reading the morning newspaper. Off to the side stood an imposing man with burly shoulders and a puffed out chest. He was wearing a black security guard uniform and was armed with a black baton at his side.

The three boys stood in front of the three elevators; Jay leaned over and pressed the up button. As the boys stood there waiting for an elevator, they noticed the security guard eyeing them. A ping sound emanated from one of the elevators and the doors slid open. A man in a black business suit strolled out and headed towards the front door as Jay, Tyler, and Will entered the elevator. Even as they stepped inside the small elevator, the security guard in the corner surveyed them. The mechanical doors slid to a close a second later and Will pressed the button for the fourteenth floor.

"So this Hodge guy – who is he really? You work with him before?" Jay asked Will intently.

"He's my old boss," Will answered.

"I thought Freed gave the orders," Tyler chimed in.

"He did, but we never got our orders directly from him," Will replied. "There was always a middle-man."

"And in your case, it was Lawrence Hodge?" Jay guessed.

Will nodded and said, "Yeah, he directed our unit."

"So there are other people – like you?"

"They're all gone now… I guess," Will replied as the doors slid open once more. Waving for Jay and Tyler to follow him, he said, "C'mon, he's probably still asleep."

"We're really just gonna go break into his apartment and hold him hostage?" Tyler asked. "Guys, the last time we tried this, I almost ended up getting caught."

"That won't happen this time," Will quickly answered. "We're actually gonna stick together."

Tyler rolled his eyes behind Will and stopped in front of Hodge's door. Pulling out a handheld drill, Will began boring a hole through the lock. The doorknob twitched a few seconds later, signaling to Will he had accomplished the first phase of the boys' plan. Carefully, Will turned the doorknob and eased the door open, making sure he didn't make a single sound. As soon as he had the door open enough for them to sneak in, he motioned for Jay and Tyler to do so.

The two snuck between the door and the doorframe and headed into the foyer of the luxurious apartment. Will entered after them and quietly closed the door. Reaching at his belt, Will pulled out a black USP and placed his back against a wall. Jay and Tyler did the same and followed Will's lead into the living room. Waving the gun in front of him, Will cautiously checked the entire room to make sure Hodge wasn't near. So far, it seemed as if he was still sleeping.

Entering the apartment's kitchen, Will craned his head around the corner to peek into the next hallway.. Jay kept his eyes behind them while Will took the lead. He slowly walked down the hallway and carefully opened each door. The first door he opened led to the bathroom; the second was just a closet filled with jackets and shoes. At the end of the hallway, the sound of a TV emanated from a door. There were three doors there, but only one of them contained the sound of people cheering on the TV. Will clutched the doorknob and turned it. He immediately kicked the door open and aimed his gun at the bed. However, there was no one there.

"Put the gun down," a stern voice said from behind. Turning, Will and Tyler realized Hodge had captured Jay. He had Jay in a headlock with a black 9 mm directed at the side of his head.

Despite Hodge's orders, Will kept his gun trained on the man. Refusing to surrender, he stared Hodge in the eyes and asked, "Remember me?"

With a perplexed look on his face, Hodge scowled at Will. Observing every inch of Will's face, Hodge's eyes lit up. "Mailer?" he mumbled. Will nodded.

New York FBI Field Office

"Director Chambers, I've got that info you wanted," Agent Rex said into her cellphone. Shown on the screen of her computer was an address leading somewhere to Buckley Rock.

"Alright, what do you have?" Chambers eagerly asked.

"There's only one registered resident in Buckley Rock with a 1967 Chevy Camaro," Rex informed her boss. "His name is Aaron Smithee. Address is 1495 South Willow Drive."

Chambers repeated the address and said, "Okay. Good work, Rex."

Agent Rex nodded to herself and hung up her cellphone. She stuffed it in her pocket and picked up a folder of papers that was set off to the side. Holding them close to her, she got up from her chair and headed out of the bullpen. Before she could leave, though, Allison ran into her on her way to Chambers' office.

"Hey, Nicole," Allison called as she passed by Agent Rex.

Rex spun around and smiled at Allison. "Hi, Allison. How are you?"

"I'm good," Allison replied quickly. "Do you mind if I ask you some questions?"

Rex looked around the room a little then turned to Allison and nodded. "Sure, why not. Go ahead."

"Will Traveler – what can you tell me about him?" Allison asked.

"Well, pretty much all we know has been released to all our media outlets already," Rex replied. "Why?"

"I'm doing a report on the Drexler Bombing for school. I was hoping to get a little more information on him since there's not that much out there."

Nodding, Rex said, "All I know is that Burchell and Fog initially blamed him for the Drexler Bombing. When your father's team searched the databases for him, they found nothing, but he eventually turned up in Boston, Massachusetts. Turns out he was working with Burchell and Fog all along and helped them escape from New York."

"That's it?" Allison asked, disappointed.

"Yup. I'm afraid so," Rex replied with a crooked smile.

"What about any pictures?"

"We had a surveillance photo of him from Boston Hall, but it's gone now. Jan Marlow – that agent that was in cahoots with the boys the whole time – took it with her when she disappeared."

"So all you guys have is that sketch?" Rex nodded in response. Pushing, Allison asked, "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure. We would've released it to the media if we had one."

Dejectedly nodding, Allison said to Rex, "Thanks for the help."

"No problem," Rex replied, smiling. "By the way, not many news stations or newspapers got this since it wasn't really that important, but apparently, Traveler's from some town in Maine called Deer Harbor."

"Deer Harbor?" Allison repeated. Nodding, Rex smiled and raised her eyebrows. "Alright, thanks."

Denver, CO

With both their guns still positioned on one another, Hodge and Will stared each other down. Jay clutched Hodge's bulging arm as it wrapped around his neck, but he could do nothing to get out of the hold. Tyler, meanwhile, stayed behind Will, watching him and Hodge.

"Last I heard, you'd gone rogue," Hodge said to Will. "What are you doing here?"

"I need answers," Will replied.

"Answers to what?" Hodge asked.

"Who we worked for."

"What are you talking about, Mailer? You know who we worked for – Freed."

"I'm not stupid, Hodge," Will retorted. "Freed gave the orders, someone else pulled the strings."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Hodge replied.

"Don't lie to me!" Will burst.

Hodge pressed the nozzle of his gun against Jay's head and said, "I don't think you're in a position to threaten me, Mailer. I got your friend's life in my hands and I'm willing to drop it."

"You shoot him, I'll kill you," Will coldly stated.

"You wouldn't risk it," Hodge replied. "Don't forget you worked under me for nearly four years, Mailer. I know how you think, how you act, everything."

"Things are different this time, Hodge!"

Tilting his head, Hodge smirked tauntingly at Will and asked, "Now how many times have you told me that?"

Denver, CO – Six Years Ago

The balconies of a ten-story apartment building faced Cherry Creek in Lower Downtown Denver. A bird sat on the edge of the creek, pecking at the flowing water, as a child and his babysitter stood across. The little boy reached forward to touch the water while his nanny made sure he didn't fall in. Standing at one of the balconies at the apartment was Will. The sliding glass door leading into the balcony was open with Will's right hand pressed up against it and the left side of his body leaning against the frame.

Dressed in a black button-down shirt and blue denim jeans, Will stared aimlessly across at the streaming water. His intense blue eyes disguised a troubled and distressed look hurting to come out. The look on his face was one of stoic indifference, but his shivering fingers noted otherwise. Behind him, Will heard a sound and swiftly spun around. With his left hand, he pointed a black handgun at the figure that had just entered his room. However, he sighed and holstered his weapon.

"What is it?" Will asked solemnly.

"You look sad," Hodge said as he stepped into the sunlight bathing Will's bedroom. "Something wrong?"

"You know what happened," Will replied without looking his boss in the eyes.

"Things like that happen all the time, Stephen," Hodge assured him. "You just have to go with it."

"It was my fault."

"You're a rookie. You're bound to make mistakes," Hodge said. He sat down at the edge of Will's bed and reached into his jacket pocket. "Mind if I light a cigarette?"

"Go ahead," Will sighed as he slid the glass door to a close and leaned back against it. Rubbing the back of his head, he asked, "What do you want?"

"I just wanted to see how you were doing," Hodge replied.

Sarcastically, Will answered, "I'm doing great."

"Don't beat yourself up over what happened, Mailer," Hodge told him as he took a drag. Blowing smoke out in front of him, he added, "Besides, the mission was a success. Those terrorists won't be seeing the light of day any time soon, and it's all thanks to you. You should be proud."

"Someone died," Will interrupted.

"It's not your job to save everybody, Mailer," Hodge said sternly. He stood up and walked over to Will. Leaning towards his face, Hodge said, "Not everyone can be saved nor should they be."

"She was one of us."

"She was a traitor!" Hodge exploded. Pointing the cigarette at Will's face, he shouted, "How many times am I going to have to explain to you, she betrayed us!"

"She had no other choice," Will said, his lips quivering.

Grabbing Will by the collar of his shirt, Hodge pushed him up against the glass door. "Look at me and tell me that if she put a gun to your head, you wouldn't have fought back. Huh? Well?" Will refused to answer and tried to avert his eyes from Hodge's. Hodge let go of his shirt collar, but grabbed his jaw. He turned Will to face him and said, "You can't be emotional or friendly in this line of work. You can't afford to be! You have to be ready to kill at any given moment. You understand me?"

Reluctantly nodding, Will grimaced at Hodge and replied, "Yeah, I get it."

Satisfied, Hodge let go of Will and adjusted his shirt collar. He slid the glass door open and flicked his cigarette outside. Taking a deep breath, he turned and began to walk away. "You're next mission is in here," Hodge snuck in as he tossed a file folder from his jacket pocket onto Will's bed. "Let's hope you don't screw up again."

Will watched Hodge leave, but before he disappeared down the hall, Will mumbled, "It'll be different next time."

Hodge turned his head, but didn't face Will. A content smile appeared on his face and he replied, "That's what I like to hear."

"Let him go, Hodge," Will demanded as he cocked his USP.

"Shoot me, Mailer," Hodge replied. "I know you won't. You wouldn't be here if you were just going to kill me!"

"Will, put the gun down!" Jay gasped as he held onto Hodge's arm.

"Shut up, Jay!" Will replied.

"It's not your call to make, Will! I'm the one he's got!" Jay retorted. "Put your gun down!"

Will glared at Jay then shifted his glance up to Hodge. Raising his arms in the air, he set the gun cautiously on the floor and slid it to the right, sending it crashing into the wall.

"Now that's a good boy," Hodge taunted. He kept his gun pressed against Jay's head and asked, "What are you here for?"

Will opened his mouth to answer, but before he could do so, Jay elbowed Hodge in his gut. The force of his blow caused Hodge's arm to loosen its grip around Jay's neck. Swiftly, Will lunged forward and grabbed Hodge's hand that held the gun. As Jay got out of the hold and dove forward to grab Will's USP, Will twisted Hodge's arm around and slammed Hodge's wrist against his knee. Groaning, Hodge did his best to hold onto the gun. However, Will slammed Hodge's wrist against his knee twice, forcing him to drop the gun. Hurriedly, Will wrapped his arm around Hodge's neck while still twisting his arm.

"Get down!" Will barked as he brought Hodge to his knees.

Gritting his teeth, Hodge tried to wrestle his arm out of the hold, but Will wouldn't budge. He stared up and glared at Jay who was holding Will's gun at his head. Shaking his head, Hodge angrily glowered at the two boys before him.

Buckley Rock, CO

Dozens of police officers surrounded Jay, Tyler, and Will's condominium. Outside, several squad cars were parked in front of the condo with their sirens blazing. Along the sidewalk stood several pedestrians trying to get a good look at what was happening inside the condo. Inside the house, Chambers and Mills stood in the living room while others searched the house.

Chambers holstered his weapon and turned to Mills, "Looks like they left in a hurry."

"Yup," Mills replied. "They didn't bother to take much with them. There's bound to be a lot of chemical evidence here."

"You stay here and search the rooms. I'm gonna talk to their neighbor." Mills nodded as Chambers exited the living room. Standing in the middle of the boys' driveway was their next door neighbor, Jen, who was standing beside one of the Deputies. She was wearing a black tank top and blue shorts. Her arms were crossed against her chest as she spoke to the man in uniform. As Chambers walked over to them, he called out to the Deputy, "I've got it from here."

The deputy nodded and walked away as Chambers grabbed Jen by the elbow and dragged her away to one of the squad cars. "What are you doing?" Jen asked she Chambers dragged her down the driveway.

"I am Director Fred Chambers of the New York FBI Field Office. I'm questioning you," Chambers replied. "He let go of Jen once they were in front of one of the police cars and asked, "What's your name?"

"Jen Jennings," Jen muttered.

"Ms. Jennings, did you know who your neighbors were?"

"No, not really. I knew their names, but I never knew 'em personally," Jen replied. "Why? What's going on? The Deputy didn't tell me anything."

"Your three neighbors – they were the suspects for the Drexler Bombing in New York City," Chambers answered. "We lost track of them three months ago and for some reason, one of them just resurfaced last night."

A stunned expression took over Jen's face. She looked like she was going to keel over and collapse as she grabbed at her forehead. "I-I didn't know. They didn't look much like the guys on TV."

"Can you describe how they looked when they resided here?" Chambers asked as he waved for an officer to come over to them.

"Y-Yeah," Jen stuttered. "Um… one of them had short blonde hair and green eyes. He's the one I knew the most. He said his name was Ryan; he never gave a last name."

"His hair – how short would you say it was?" Chambers questioned.

"It was – um – spiked up with gel. I never saw it down or anything and he wore a hat whenever it wasn't spiked up," Jen answered.

"And the others?"

"One of them had black hair, it was kinda long," Jen replied. "I don't really know how to describe it."

Chambers pulled out a picture of Jay and displayed it to Jen. "Did he look like this?"

Jen's eyes lit up brightly and she repeated, "Yeah. Yeah. He-He sorta looked like that, just with less facial hair and his hair was longer."

"You getting this?" Chambers asked the officer he'd called over. The young man was scribbling down the descriptions Jen was giving them. He nodded in response to Chambers, who turned back to Jen to listen. "And the third?"

"The last guy – I didn't see him much. I think he had a job at the Basin. He was always gone during the day," Jen said. "He was a short guy and had really messy hair like he never bothered combing it or something."

"Any facial hair?"

"Yeah. Yeah. He looked like he only shaved every once in a while. Last time I saw him, he hadn't shaved."

"So he had a beard?" Chambers asked.

"No. No. Not a beard," Jen quickly responded. "More like – um – stubbles or something across his jaw and mouth area."

"Was he shorter than the others?"

"Yeah, he was a few inches shorter than both the other two," Jen replied.

Chambers turned to the policeman next to him and muttered, "Will Traveler. Get me composite sketches of their new looks right away." He looked back at Jen as the officer nodded and pulled out a radio. To Jen, he questioned, "You sure you didn't know who these guys were?"

Jen looked at Chambers with an appalled look and shouted, "Do you really think I'd help some terrorists?! I had no idea who these guys were! They looked like ordinary guys to me, okay? How was I supposed to know they blew up some museum?!"

"It was all over the news," Chambers replied.

"If you haven't noticed, we're in the middle of nowhere here. We're five hours away from the nearest Wal-Mart for Christ's sake," Jen retorted.

"Calm down, Ms. Jennings," Chambers told her. "If you don't then I'll be forced to put you in handcuffs."

Jen sighed and said, "I'm-I'm sorry. I'm just scared right now. Our news channels barely ever showed the reports on the Bombing so I didn't know. I'm sorry."

"I understand, but I need your full cooperation if we're going to catch these guys."

Jen nodded and asked, "What else do you need?"

"What names were your neighbors going under?"

"I didn't know their last names, but like I said, one of them was named Ryan, the one with the black hair was Brent, and the short one was named Aaron or something like that."

The officer beside Chambers wrote down the fake names and looked up at Chambers as he asked, "Is there anything else you can remember about these guys that could possibly help us?"

Jen shook her head despondently and said, "I didn't know a thing about them. We barely ever spoke, I saw them leave the house maybe once or twice a week. They were practically ghosts. I didn't think anything of it before, but now…"

Chambers nodded and turned to the officer behind him. "Officer Reddick, make sure Ms. Jennings is properly taken care of."

"Yes, sir," the policeman said as Chambers walked off.

"What is it?" Chambers asked Mills as he walked up the front porch.

Mills flashed a piece of paper at Chambers and smiled. "We found bills. This condo was leased to three assumed names: Aaron Smithee, Ryan Hadley, and Brent Foss."

"Good work," Chambers congratulated Mills. "Get our agents on the phone and have them search every database for those names. I want to know everything these guys have been doing the past three months."

Denver, CO

Hodge's body was now bound to a wooden chair in the middle of his living room. His wrists were wrapped in duct tape and held down to the chair's arms while his chest was bound to the spine of the chair with a spool of rope. To his left, Jay closed the blinds while Will sat in front of him with a gun in his hand. Jay sat down on the couch behind Will while Tyler leaned back against the wall. The two friends watched Will's handiwork as he pressed the barrel of the USP against Hodge's forehead.

"What's the Fourth Branch?" Will demanded to know.

"Even if I knew, you think I'd tell you?" Hodge asked mockingly.

Without warning, Will brought the gun down to Hodge's left thigh and popped off a shot. A bullet injected itself into Hodge's left leg, forcing a howl out of his lips. He began hopping up and down and biting his teeth together, but he was helpless to the pain. Will lifted the gun back up and jammed it against Hodge's head.

"I'm not playing with you, Hodge. Give me what I want and I'll let you go," Will told him. Behind him, Tyler grimaced at the sight of blood pouring out of the huge wound on Hodge's thigh.

"Tell us what the Fourth Branch is!" Jay shouted.

"If you don't give us answers, you're just making yourself useless," Will said. "You remember what you told me to do to people that are useless, right?"

"When I get out of this, Mailer, I am going to make you suffer like you never have before!" Hodge threatened.

"The one person I loved is dead and my country is out to get me. Suffering? You haven't seen anything yet," Will bluntly retorted, cocking the gun against Hodge's head.

"Just tell us what we want to know and you can go free!" Tyler interjected. "We're not murderers; we have consciences."

"Tell that to your friend here," Hodge replied, pointing his chin towards Will.

With the butt of his handgun, Will smacked Hodge across the jaw. Angrily, he grabbed Hodge by the collar of his shirt and pushed him backwards, tilting his chair. "Don't push me."

"You were a lot more threatening when you were backed by real agents instead of these two nitwits," Hodge taunted.

Jay hopped on his feet and grabbed Hodge's gun from the coffee table. He pointed it at Hodge and demanded, "Tell us about the Fourth Branch!"

"Oh, did I hurt your feelings?" Hodge asked mockingly.

"I will take your other leg out if you don't give us something right now," Will threatened as he lowered his gun.

"I'm telling you, Mailer, I don't know a damn thing about what you're talking about."

"Lies!" Will shouted as he hit Hodge across the face again. Bringing Hodge's face closer to his, he muttered, "Don't play games with me, Hodge. You should know better. You taught me how to do this." Will let go of Hodge's collar and stood back with his arms across his chest.

Swinging his head around, Hodge sighed angrily. He bit his teeth together and glowered up at Will with a defeated look. "If I told you anything, then I'm as good as dead anyways."

"If you're gonna die either way, then help us, help me," Will replied. "You know me, Hodge. You know I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't believe it was the right thing to do."

Shaking his head vigorously, Hodge said, "I can't do that, Stephen."

Will gritted his teeth and reeled his arm back to hit Hodge across the face. However, his ears caught the sound of a doorknob wriggling. Jay and Tyler heard the noise too; their heads turned towards the foyer of the apartment and their necks craned to get a better look. The doorknob turned once and the door flung open as a little boy ran through. Behind him, a middle-aged woman staggered in juggling a few bags of groceries.

Inside the living room, Will and his friends turned to Hodge. A horrified and dismayed expression crossed his face as he watched his son sprint into the room with a happy smile on his face. "Daddy! Daddy!" the little boy cheered. He had no clue his father was tied up. As he got closer, though, the little boy noticed the tape around Hodge's wrists and the robe around his chest. "Daddy, what's wrong?"

"Hey," Jay mumbled from the couch. He stood up and started stalking towards the little boy who looked up at him with scared, doe eyes.

"Who are they, Daddy?" the little boy asked.

"Just some friends," Hodge replied. "Go to your room."

"He stays!" Will ordered.

"Hey, come here, little guy," Jay said softly to the boy. He extended his left hand and motioned for Hodge's son to come to him. "C'mon, I won't hurt you."

"Lawrence, didn't I tell you to put away our laundry?" Hodge's wife called as she walked towards the living room from around the corner. As she turned the corner and stared into the room, her eyes bulged. Her jaw slackening, she frightfully asked, "What's going on?!"

Nervously, the woman reached for her son, but Jay grabbed his wrist and pulled him towards the couch. In front of him, Will stepped forward and stared the woman down. By himself in the corner, Tyler looked around without a clue as to what he should do.

"Give me back my son! Who are you people?!" Hodge's wife screamed.

"Calm down!" Will barked as he waved his gun at her.

"Don't you wave that thing at my wife, Mailer!" Hodge shouted with a fiery look in his eyes. "Don't you dare."

"Will," Jay whispered from the couch. He held on to Hodge's son's little hand, but he made sure not to hold on too tightly. He wanted the boy to know he was safe, but he wasn't about to let their leverage get away.

"Be quiet, Jay," Will told him. "I'll handle this."

"Will, you're not gonna hurt these people!" Jay shouted as he looked up at his friend.

With his gun still trained on Hodge's wife, Will said to Jay, "You're the one that wanted the truth so badly, Jay." Turning to Hodge's wife, he instructed, "Sit down."

"Who the hell are you?!" Hodge's wife shrieked.

"I said, sit down!" Will barked as he grabbed the woman by her shoulders.

"Don't you touch her!" Hodge screamed frantically as Will forced his wife onto a chair.

Keeping the gun on Hodge's wife's head, Will said, "Tyler, get that tape and tie her up. Make sure she can't move."

Tyler looked up at Will questioningly with a confused look on his face. "Will," he muttered.

"Now!"

"No," Tyler retorted.

"What'd you say?" Will asked, looking over at his friend.

"I said, no!" Tyler countered. "These are innocent people, Will. Now I said I'd do anything to find these answers, but I didn't think we would go this far!"

"Like I told you before, Tyler," Will said, "people are going to die."

Tyler shook his head and opened his mouth, but Jay interrupted. "He's right, Will." Jay stood up, his hand still around the scared little boy's hand. He set his gun on the coffee table and said, "I'm not going to shoot a little boy."

Will shot both Jay and Tyler a striking look then turned to Hodge. Angered, Will desperately grabbed Hodge's wife by the shoulder and dragged her over to Hodge. Jay and Tyler both looked on in a nervous haze as Will placed Hodge's wife's head in front of his and pointed the gun at the back of her neck.

"They may not be willing to do it, but I am," Will reminded Hodge.

Hodge glared at him with a fierce look. "I am going to kill you," he muttered through gritted teeth.

"Quit acting tough, Hodge," Will told him. He cocked the gun. "You and I both know you are not going to put her life on the line!"

"Mommy!" the son called from the couch. He tried to get out of Jay's grasp to comfort his mother, but Jay refused to let go. "Mommy!" he called again.

"Baby! Baby!" Hodge's wife shouted. Tears began coming down her face. "Please. Please. Don't do this!"

As Hodge's body heaved up and down with every gasping breath, he glared up at Will. Sweat trickled down his forehead and saliva dripped along the side of his lip. With all his strength, he tried to wrestle his way out of the binds. No matter what, though, he was helpless; he struggled against the rope around his chest and the tape around his wrists, but he couldn't do a thing. His heartbeat racing, Hodge threatened Will, "Mailer, I swear to God – "

"Don't give me that bullshit," Will retorted. "You will tell us what we want to know or you're about to swim in her blood and brain matter!"

Hodge's breathing got louder and heavier with each breath. Shaking his head, he put his forehead against his wife's hair and cringed. Suddenly, tears began streaming down his face. The angry expression on his face changed to a look of despair and anxiety. He looked up at Will pleadingly and begged, "Please, don't kill them. Don't kill them, I'm begging you."

In a softer, considerate tone, Will said, "Then give us what we want."

Hodge kissed his wife on the head and looked up at Will through his tears. Sniffing, he mumbled, "I don't know the specifics, but the Fourth Branch is a secret society."

"Go on," Will urged. He reached into his pocket with his free hand and pulled out a tape record. He pressed the circular red button and listened in.

"They're behind most of America's decisions," Hodge muttered. "I don't know who they are. I don't even know if they really exist. All I know is that Freed said that what we were doing was for them and for the good of this country!"

"The whole time?" Will gasped. His rage was beginning to swell up inside. "The whole time, we've been working for them? All the missions, all the spying, all of it! It was for them?!"

Still crying, Hodge nodded desperately and said, "Yes, it was all for them." Will lifted the barrel of his gun from Hodge's wife's neck and stepped back. "That's all I know. Please…" Hodge mumbled weakly.

Will holstered his weapon and stopped the tape recorder. He stuffed it back into his pocket and turned to Jay and Tyler, "Let the kid go. We're leaving."

Jay let the little boy go and followed Will across the room. Tyler followed them as well as the little boy ran passed to hold his crying mother. Will grabbed the tape off the drawer against the wall, prompting Jay to ask, "What are you doing?"

"Giving us enough time to get away," Will replied. He unraveled the tape and strode over to Hodge's wife and son. "We'll tell the guy at the front desk to check on you guys in five minutes. Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you." Will grabbed Hodge's wife and set her down on the chair he had her on before. With the tape, he wrapped his wrists around the arms then turned to the little boy. He held out his hand and said, "C'mon, just give me your hands. I'm not gonna hurt you." Will looked at the little boy with urging eyes and waved for him to give him his hands. Kindly, he added, "C'mon, I'm the good guy here." Giving up, the little boy set his hand down on Will's palm. Will grabbed it and tied it behind the boy's back along with his other hand. "I'm sorry I had to do this."

Standing up, Will hurried to the front door to join Jay and Tyler. Tyler opened the door and cautiously looked both ways. He stepped out the apartment followed by Jay and Will.

"What now?" Tyler asked.

"We'll worry about our next step later," Will replied.

"No, stop," Jay told Will. "What the hell was that in there, Will? We're in this to find answers not murder innocent people."

Will looked at his friend with a defiant expression and stated, "You didn't really think I'd kill them did you, Jay? C'mon, I'm not that coldhearted."

Jay and Tyler exchanged questioning glances, but left the thoughts behind. Jay looked back at Will with a relieved look and said, "Whatever. For now, we should just find somewhere to hide."

Will nodded in reply and followed Jay and Tyler over to the elevator. He pressed one of the buttons and waited for the elevator to rise. Less than a second later, the mechanical doors slid open and the three boys hurried inside.

Somewhere Over Nevada

A small, white, corporate jet with the Fog Financial logo across the side soared through the luminescent blue sky. The tiny jet could only hold a few people, but the only folks onboard were the pilot and co-pilot and Gabriel Fog. In the lavish cabin of the jet sat Gabriel Fog with his hand on the miniature remote for the plasma screen TV mounted across from him. As he looked up at the female news reporter on the screen, his mind wandered away into the abysses of his memory.

U.S. Medical Center for Federal Criminals – New York – 24 Hours Ago

"We have a problem… with your brother," Carlton Fog rasped. The breathing apparatus around his mouth filled with moisture then drained away as he breathed heavily.

"Is he alright?" Gabriel worriedly asked.

"Your brother is the problem, Gabriel," Carlton muttered. "He needs to be dealt with."

"What are you talking about, Dad?" Gabriel cautiously asked. "What do you mean Tyler's the problem?"

"You must forgive me fo-for what I'm about to tell you," Carlton uttered. He tried to clear his throat, but to no avail. He looked at his son with a sorrowful expression and said, "It's my fault your brother's in this mess."

"What?" Gabriel jolted up.

"They promised all our problems would go away if I gave up Tyler," Carlton said. "They said they'd take care of things, make them all better."

"You were a part of this?" Gabriel gasped.

Carlton weakly nodded and continued, "I had to do it, son. You have to believe me. You have to forgive me. It was for the good of the family."

Cringing, Gabriel slowly eased towards his father. He held his father's old, weak hand and clasped his own hand around it. Rubbing his father's wrinkly palm, Gabriel grievingly said, "What do I have to do?"

Gabriel's blank eyes stared up at the screen of the TV as the reporter disappeared and a new image took her place. It was the first time Gabriel actually paid attention to the screen. Licking his pursed lips, he observantly looked up at the images flashing before him. His eyes widened as he saw the new composite sketches of Jay, Tyler, and Will being posted up on the screen.

"What you are seeing here, folks are the recently released composite sketches of the Drexler Bombing suspects," the reporter said behind the scenes. The photos of Jay and Tyler were manipulated photographs the FBI had been using while the one of Will was another drawing. "The FBI has just released a brief statement claiming the three suspects have resurfaced. Director Fred Chambers of the New York Field Office who previously led the manhunt for these suspects is set to make an announcement later today."

Denver, CO

The elevator doors flew open and Jay, Tyler, and Will hurriedly walked out. They headed towards the front door, but Jay stopped to tell the young man at the front desk. The young man was turned around, though, looking at the TV, forcing Jay to knock his knuckles against the counter.

"Hey," he called, prompting the young man to turn.

"Hi, how may I help you?" the young man asked. With a remote control, he turned the volume on the tiny TV behind him down and looked up at Jay. As he did, his brow furrowed and his eyes squinted at Jay's face.

Jay noticed the quizzical look on the young man's face and said, "Yeah – um – my friends in Room 120 asked if you could send them a reminder to come down here in five minutes. Their clock broke or something so they need an alarm. Is that cool?"

"Yes, sir, we'll make sure to do that," the young man replied. Jay nodded and smiled at him. As he turned away, the young man continued eyeing him. He suddenly stood up and shouted, "Hey, do I know you from somewhere?"

"What?" Jay asked as he turned around.

"Do I know you from somewhere?" the young man repeated.

Jay shrugged and shook his head. Behind him, Tyler anxiously held the door open and tapped his foot while Will stood outside ready to leave. "No, I don't think so."

"Oh," the young man muttered. "Oh, well." He turned back around and went back to watching the TV as Jay gave a sigh of relief. Sitting behind the desk, the young man's eyes widened as he looked at his TV. The man he had just seen on the screen looked nearly identical to Jay. Quickly, he turned to the security guard and called, "Hey, get those guys!"

Jay and Tyler turned around with surprised looks on their faces as the security guard charged towards. Tyler cursed under his breath as he and Jay hurried over to Will's car. Unfortunately, there was no time to take the car as the guard managed to grab Jay's hood before he could make it to the sidewalk. Seeing his friend in trouble, Tyler ran over to him and grabbed his hand. He tried to pull Jay away, but the guard held on tight. Suddenly, Will fired a shot off in the air, causing the guard to let go of Jay's hood. Jay and Tyler quickly ran over to Will's car and hopped in as the guard started shouting.

"Cops! Cops!"

Will frantically started the engine of his car, all the while cursing beneath his breath. Once the car engine roared, Will stomped on the gas and pulled into the street, nearly smashing into a white four-door passing by. He sped up the street and weaved through traffic. Across the street, a police officer noticed the Camaro slithering through traffic and gave chase.

"Cops," Tyler gasped in the back seat.

Will grabbed the gear shifter and quickly shifted to third gear as he pressed down on the gas and clutch. Behind them, the squad car's speakers burst to life.

"Pull over. You in the black Camaro, pull over right now," the officer instructed.

Shaking his head to himself, Will continued on down the street and made a sharp right. He almost dodged the squad car, but the policeman hit the brakes and followed him down the street. Chugging through the streets of downtown Denver, Will sped by several cars. He scraped the side of his Camaro against a car driving alongside him, but he kept on driving. The patrol car followed persistently, nearly hitting a car that was pulling out of its parking spot. With the sirens blazing right behind them, Will, Jay, and Tyler's hearts began racing. They hadn't felt this way in months. It was still an all too familiar feeling, though. Will swerved to avoid hitting a semi-truck and made a left turn with the cops right on their tail.

Tyler turned his head to see through the back windshield. The squad car was still right on them. Every other sound seemed to be drowned out by the call of the sirens. In the passenger seat, Jay looked at the side mirror to get a good look on the patrol car. Suddenly, his side slammed against the door as Will made a sharp left down a street. A black coupe stopped right in front of them, just before it smashed into their side. Across the street, all the cars stopped even though the lights had turned green. The cops sped through the frozen street and followed Will's Camaro down the hill.

As Will crossed the intersection, another patrol car joined in the chase. Together, the two patrol cars chased after the Camaro like race horses down a track. One of the squad cars caught up to Will and slammed into his rear bumper. Will tried to pull away, but the squad car kept slamming into him. Pulling up alongside his car, the policemen slammed into the passenger side, sending the Camaro careening across the street. Will tried to regain control of the car, but he was unable to before it jumped the curb. A man carrying a box leaped out of the way as the Camaro barreled through a blue mailbox and charged down the street. The second patrol car came up from behind and tried to catch the boys, but Will blocked its every move. The car kept trying to pull up beside the Camaro again, but Will refused to let it. Suddenly, though, the first squad car pulled up alongside the Camaro and hit Will's side.

Although Will was certainly rocked, he didn't allow it to slow him down. He shifted up to fifth gear and raced down the street with the cops right on his tail. A line of cars blocked the way ahead of him, but Will recklessly drove on through. He smashed into the rear bumpers of two cars and sent them flying as he raced across the street. The two squad cars behind him followed, but were forced to stop when a semi-truck drove through in front of them. They both began honking at the truck as Will sped away. The boys gave off sighs of relief, but their celebration was far from at hand. A yelp escaped Will's lips as he tried to swerve out of the way of a red SUV. He wasn't able to in time and the large car slammed its grill into the Camaro's driver side. Spinning out of control, Will grabbed a hold of the steering wheel and hit the brakes. The car skidded along the street and hit the curb; it almost tipped over, but stopped and its wheels hit right back down on the road.

In their seats, Will, Jay, and Tyler breathed heavily and stared out the windows with blank stared. The car's engine had stalled, forcing Will to restart the car. He twisted the key in the ignition, but all they heard was the sputtering of gears and pistons. He tried again, but still, the engine refused to start. Cursing, Will punched the steering wheel and hopped out the car. Jay and Tyler followed and together, they ran down the sidewalk.

"They're coming," Jay muttered as he listened to the sirens blazing behind them.

"C'mon, down here," Will suggested. He led Jay and Tyler into an alley and they quickly made their way through it.

Suddenly, a brown sedan stopped them at the end of the alley. The three boys were prepared to turn and run, but they stopped as soon as the driver's side door opened. Stepping out of the brown four-door was the Porter. He looked over at the boys with a stern and stoic expression just like always.

"Get in the car! Now!" the Porter ordered.

Frenetically, Jay and Tyler hurried into the car. Jay ran around the side to get into the front seat while Tyler leaped into the back. Meanwhile, Will remained still in the middle of the alley. He stared at the Porter with a questioning and distrustful look.

"What are you waiting for? Get in the car!" the Porter barked.

"Who are you?" Will asked as he felt the handle of his gun.

"Get in the car now!"

Tyler stuck his neck outside and shouted, "Just get in the car! We'll explain later!"

Will let go of his weapon and sprinted down the alley. He hurried into the back seat and slammed the door as the Porter got back into the driver's seat and sped away. The tires of the sedan grinded loudly against the concrete street as it raced away from the scene.

Denver FBI Field Office

In the middle of the lobby of the Denver Field Office, a podium was set up along with several blue chairs lined up in rows and columns across from it. Two flags stood on both sides of the podium, which had many microphones with various logos attached to it. On the floor around the podium was the insignia of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Several agents in suits stood around the podium with earpieces coiled around their earlobes as they waited. Reporters began filing into the room and sitting on the chairs as an elevator door slid open across the floor.

Chambers stepped out the elevator with a manila folder in his hand. He headed straight towards the podium with Agents Mills and Kingsley on his tail. A few more agents followed from another elevator; one of them carried a bulletin board. At the center of the room, Chambers took his place behind the podium while the FBI agent following him set up the bulletin board on its legs. Mills and Kingsley stood behind Chambers as the other agents dispersed around the podium.

Tapping one of the microphones, Chambers opened up the manila folder in his hands. "Before I begin, I'd just like to state that there will be no questions afterwards. This is simply an announcement. My name is Fred Chambers and I am the Director of the FBI Field Office in New York City. Now, I know we aren't in New York, but because this pertains to an open case under my jurisdiction, I will be the one leading this investigation. Anyways, three months ago, the Drexler Museum in Manhattan was blown up by these two suspects – Jay Burchell and Tyler Fog." Chambers pointed at the two photographs stabled onto the bulletin board. "Later on, we discovered these two were aided in their act of terrorism by a third suspect known only as Will Traveler." He pointed again at the bulletin board, but this time at the sketch of Will. "For three months, our three suspects disappeared, but we now have proof suggesting they have returned."

Somewhere in Vermont

A train sped through the tracks in a lonely valley. Fields of green surrounded the train on either side with a large mountaintop leaning across the valley. Steam exited the train's pipes as it chugged through the rails. Inside one of the cars was Allison with her laptop on her lap.

Her fingers rested on the keyboard while her eyes looked up at the TV screen mountain in front of her against the wall. The man in the blue shirt beside him was staring up at the TV as well. Allison's eyes were fixated on her father who stood with his chest bent over the dark blue podium. As Allison continued listening to her father's press conference, the screen of her laptop turned black. The bright screen showing search results for Deer Harbor, Maine disappeared, replaced by a simple black monitor.

Elsewhere, Marlow stood in line at a local convenience store down the street from her apartment. Dressed in a navy blue hat, a white t-shirt, and some jeans, she tried to look as inconspicuous as possible. The man in front of her moved up as a teenage boy and his friend walked away from the counter. The woman behind the cash register rang up the man's milk carton and grabbed his bag of chips as Marlow stared up at the small TV set hanging above the register.

"Last night, a man was found murdered just outside the town of Buckley Rock, Colorado – only approximately five or so hours from here. The investigation of that homicide led to our knowledge of our suspects' return. Coupled with the recent report of a sighting of these three suspects, we are sure now, more than ever, that our suspects have returned!" Chambers declared.

The face of her nemesis glared back at her as he spat words of determination and ferocity at the microphones in front of him. Chambers didn't look much different; he sounded much more arrogant, but other than that, he still looked like the same old bastard that had betrayed Marlow. As the man in front of her walked away with his change, Marlow set her bottle of Gatorade down on the counter and pulled out her wallet. Still looking up at the screen, her eyes met with Chambers' own cold, spineless set.

Somewhere Over Nevada

"I am here to urge everyone out there with any information that could possibly help us in our search for these terrorists, to please call us immediately at our hotline. The last time these guys were on the loose, a museum blew up and several people were killed, including FBI agents and police officers," Chambers said.

Sipping on a cup of ice water, Gabriel looked up at the flat screen TV before him. A sigh escaped his lips as he set the plastic cup down and he leaned back in his chair.

Denver, CO

It had been about twenty minutes since they got away from the cops. Driving down a crowded street, the Porter kept his eyes forward. Beside him, Jay crossed his arms over his chest and looked guardedly out the window at the passing buildings and people and cars around them. In the back seat, Tyler stared at the car radio with a look of fear and jumpiness on his face. The fingers on his right hand tapped repeatedly against his thigh as he sat back in the seat. Next to him, Will listened attentively to Chambers' words as he palmed the tape recorder in his pocket.

Chambers stared directly into the one of the cameras before him. He slammed his palms down on the cold surface of the podium and glared at the red dot of the camera. Several handheld cameras carried by photographers around the lobby began flashing. Lights burst all around the podium, illuminating Chambers' grizzled face. Taking a deep breath, he finished, "I guarantee all of you: we will have these terrorists captured. They are not escaping! Not again! I assure each and every one of you: we will find and capture them… dead or alive."


	11. Chapter 11: The Baron

Guest Starring

The Porter………………...…Billy Mayo

The Baron…………………...Donald Sutherland

Frank Mills…………………..Chiwetel Ejiofor

Nicole Rex………………...Rose Byrne

David Roth…………………..Peter Stormare

Carissa Mailer………………Alberta Watson

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Chapter 11: The Baron**

"I assure each and every one of you: we will find and capture them… dead or alive," Chambers' voice declared through the car speakers.

At once, Jay, Tyler, and Will's eyes were lifted up from their trance and fell on the radio. As quickly as their eyes turned towards it, the Porter turned the radio off.

Calming down, Jay asked demandingly, "Where are you taking us?"

"To safety," the Porter calmly answered.

"How'd you find us in the first place, huh? How'd you know we were here?!" Tyler screamed from the back seat. He leaned forward, grabbing a hold of the sides of the Porter's seat.

The Porter slightly turned his head towards Tyler and asked, "You forget that easily?"

Confused, Tyler titled his head to the side and looked at the Porter questioningly. Jay and Will both turned to Tyler and wondered what the Porter was talking about. Suddenly, Tyler's eyes lit up and he brought the gold watch around his wrist to face.

"What?" Will wondered.

"He put a tracking device in my watch three months ago," Tyler shuddered. He looked up at the Porter and said, "You've known where we've been the whole time, haven't you?"

The three boys all turned to the Porter who refused to give up any answers. Jay glared at him angrily and said, "He asked you a question."

"We believed it was in your best interests – and ours – that you stayed put for a while," the Porter replied.

"Ours?" Jay repeated. "Who else is working with you?"

The Porter gazed over at Jay and locked eyes with him. "You'll find out soon," he said, nodding.

In his brown four-door, the Porter raced down the quiet, shadowy countryside quite a few miles away from Denver. They had escaped from the city nearly six hours ago and were still driving. By now, the sun had begun to go down over the horizon. Only a sliver of sunlight mutely illuminated the craggy valleys and sloping hills around the empty highway.

Though they'd been driving for several hours now, none of the boys were looking to sleep. All that was on their minds were questions, but the Porter was less than willing to offer answers. He stared at the road silently as he drove onwards down the empty strip. The boys had stopped trying to get him to speak hours ago. They decided to remain quiet and enjoy the peacefulness of the countryside one last time.

Beside the Porter sat Jay. He slouched in the passenger seat and stared outside the window at the scarce trees scattered about the plains. In the seat behind the Porter was Tyler who leaned against the door with his head resting on his balled left hand. A deep sigh left his lips as he stared out at the setting sun. Sitting beside him, Will listlessly sat with his arms folded across his chest. His eyes wandered over the countryside passing by them each second.

-Soleri, AZ – Nineteen Years Ago-

Howard's Creek was a small stream bordered by grassy plains on each side. The creek sat on the edge of town, away from the bustle of civilization and encompassed by the tranquility of nature. A seven-year-old Will strode along the quiet stream while his Uncle David followed him behind. David was dressed in a simple white button-down shirt and corduroys while Will wore a gray sweater and blue shorts. His hands stuffed down his pant pockets, David smiled as he walked alongside the creek with his little nephew.

"How's school been?" David asked as Will hopped over a large rock on the grass.

"Good," Will said softly.

"You understand everything your teachers teach you?"

"Most of it," Will replied as he picked up a stick beside the creek. He dipped its pointed head into the creek and watched the trickling water flow over it.

"You know if you need any help, I'm here," David said. "Your mom too. She's pretty good with math."

Will simply nodded in response as he lifted the stick up from the creek and swung it around.

David smiled as he observed Will's innocent behavior. "What about your friends? How come I never see you with anybody?"

"I don't have any," Will mumbled.

"Well, I'm your friend," David said as he started tickling Will.

Laughing as he fell on the grass, Will kicked his legs in the air as he grabbed at his uncle's large fingers. The happy, naive smile on his face could practically illuminate the dark riverside with sunlight. As Will scrambled back up to his feet, he anxiously asked, "Are you staying here?"

"No, I can't," David answered sadly. "I have to get back to Denver. I have a job there."

"Why can't you just get a job here?" Will wanted to know as he looked up at his uncle. "I like having you here. It's not so lonely when you're here." David smiled earnestly at little Will and rubbed his large hand over Will's messy brown hair. Chuckling, Will grabbed at his thick hand to get it off his head.

"It's not that easy to quit your job, Stephen. You'll learn that some day."

-----

All three boys' eyes shifted forward when they saw the faint image of a massive ranch sitting in the middle of a vast, rambling meadow. Along one side of the fenced-off ranch were stables for various kinds of animals like horses and goats. Across the way was a large garage structure that was filled with several vehicles. Behind the garage was a one-story border house built for the ranch hands. In the center of the ranch was an enormous house two stories high with a miniature garden sitting before it.

"Where are we?" Tyler asked as he leaned forward to survey the ranch.

The Porter refused to speak again; instead, he drove down a beaten path into the garage. It was unusual for a ranch to have a mechanized garage door, but it was useful nonetheless. As the sliding door pulled upwards, the Porter drove the brown four-door into the garage and parked in an empty spot beside a large gray truck.

"C'mon," the Porter said as he stepped out the car.

Jay, Tyler, and Will followed him out the car and walked behind him as he led them across the ranch towards the main house. Still searching the ranch with his eyes, Jay eagerly wanted to know, "What is this place?"

"It's a ranch," the Porter bluntly stated.

"This place yours?" Tyler asked.

The Porter shook his head and answered, "It belongs to the Baron."

"The Baron? Who's that?" Will questioned.

"You'll meet him soon," the Porter replied as he led the boys up the stone steps. He reached the front door and rang the gold doorbell beside the door.

The burgundy front door swung open several seconds later and a man in a nice black suit appeared before the Porter and the boys. Wrapped around his right ear was a white earpiece. He nodded at the Porter and eyed down the three boys before allowing them all in. The Porter led the boys through the foyer and into the living room. At each corner of the room stood a man in a black suit with a matching earpiece. The man that opened the door walked across the living room floor over to a suede, tan recliner that sat in front of a bright fire flaring in the fireplace. On the other side of the recliner stood another man in a black suit. He looked up at the Porter and the boys as they entered the living room.

The man bent over and put one hand on the top of the recliner. He leaned forward and whispered into his boss' ear, "They're here."

The Porter cross his arms over his chest and watched as the man in the recliner stood up. He was a fairly tall man with silvery white hair slicked back and a rough beard around his jaw and mouth. He was dressed in a white dress shirt under a black and gray pinstripe suit. The man's face was grizzled and boney, but his cheerful smile wiped that away. The Baron sauntered over to the Porter and shook his hand strongly.

"How are you boys?" he asked, looking at Will, Jay, and Tyler equally.

"Who are you?" Will suspiciously asked.

"You can just call me the Baron," he answered. "I don't really like my first name anyways." He stuck his hand out for a handshake to Will who looked down cautiously at it. "C'mon, you're amongst friends here. I won't bite."

Reluctantly, Will extended his hand towards the Baron and shook hands with him. Jay and Tyler did the same. As he shook hands with the Baron, Jay asked him, "What is this place?"

"It's my home!" the Baron answered jovially. The concerned look on Jay's face remained there. "Don't worry, Mr. Burchell, you and your friends are safe here."

"I thought I was safe before," Jay replied, staring at the Baron's gleaming blue eyes. He shook his head and added, "Didn't work out."

"I understand," the Baron said. He stuck his hands out to his sides and motioned at his men positioned around the living room. "But as you can see, you're in a pretty secure place now. No one can get to you here. I promise you that."

"So why are we here?" Tyler asked restlessly. "I'm pretty sure it's not so we can eat cookies and share bedtime stories, so can we please just cut to the chase?"

"You wanted answers, right?" the Baron replied. He flashed Tyler a bright smile and said, "I'm here to give them to you."

-Denver FBI Field Office-

Agent Kingsley escorted Chambers and Mills across the bullpen of the Denver Field Office. He walked through an open red door and led the two agents into the back of the room. Computers lined the entire room in rows and columns. Several agents sat at the computers frantically tapping away at their keyboards. Chambers followed Kingsley over to an FBI agent who sat at one of the computers in the back. A black headset was wrapped around his head and around the side of his face. He twisted around in his chair as he noticed Chambers, Mills, and Kingsley standing behind him.

"This is Agent Hoffman," Kingsley said, pointing to the agent at the computer. "He's found something very interesting and helpful to your case. It has to do with Traveler."

"Anything about Traveler will help," Chambers said. "What'd you find?" Chambers leaned forward and held onto the top of the chair as he stared down at Hoffman's screen.

"You know those names you gave us?" Hoffman started off. "As we expected, they're just aliases for Jay Burchell and Tyler Fog. However, as you already know, Will Traveler isn't in any of our databases. The name we got off the condo lease – Aaron Smithee – that's in our databases, though."

"What?" Chambers blurted out.

"Turns out, Aaron Smithee is an alias used by a guy named Stephen Mailer.

"What else did you get on him?" Chambers wanted to know.

"I couldn't get his file open; it's protected by a secure password," Hoffman answered. Smiling, he continued, "However, I did find out some stuff about his family. His mother, Carissa Mailer, lives in Soleri, Arizona as a waitress at a local diner. Father, Jacob Roth, has been missing; abandoned the family when Mailer was just a kid apparently."

Chambers nodded his head and turned to Mills. "Get the mother's address and get our nearest agents in the area to begin questioning her."

"There's one more thing, sir," Hoffman said, raising his index finger before his face.

Chambers turned to Hoffman and asked, "What is it?"

"I did an extensive search on Mailer's relatives. The grandfather on his father's side is Jamison Roth."

"The oil baron?!" Chambers sputtered. Hoffman nodded. Putting his hands on his waist, Chambers looked back at Mills and said, "I want a list drawn up of Roth's homes. I'm not having these guys escape to one of their daddy's safe houses again!"

-Deer Harbor, ME-

Walking down a street in the small town of Deer Harbor was Allison Chambers. Slung around her right shoulder was a gray bag carrying a notebook, pens, and her trusty laptop. She was wearing a gray and white striped blouse with a black lace tank top underneath. Along with her blue jeans, she wore a pair of white sneakers. Her eyes scanned the street she walked along; she was intent on finding something out about Will Traveler today.

Above, the moon was already up. There weren't very many people left wandering around the streets. Every person she walked passed, though, Allison was sure to ask them about Traveler. So far, no one had answered her pleas. As she walked down the street, though, it seemed as if her prayers were answered.

"Have Books, Will Travel," she read quietly as she stared up at the big sign above the store in front of her.

Looking around her, Allison hurried into the store and pushed the door open. She found hundreds of bookshelves lining every inch of the store. She walked up to the front counter and rang the small silver bell sitting there. Seconds later, a young man of average height appeared from the back of the bookstore.

"Hey, can I help you with anything?" the young man asked. He had short brown hair that was spiked up into a sort of mohawk. He wore a green t-shirt along with blue jeans.

"Hi – um – my name's Allison Chambers. I'm kind of a reporter and I'm doing a piece on the Drexler Bombing."

"What are you doin' in Deer Harbor then? We got nothin' to do with what happened down there in New York," the young man defensively replied.

"One of the suspects – Will Traveler – is supposedly from this town," Allison quickly snapped back.

"I'm sorry, but I don't know anything about that," the young man said as he turned.

"Are you sure?" Allison asked as she followed the young man into the back half of the shop. "That's a real big coincidence he seems to be named after your store."

"How do you know he's named after this store?"

"It's just an inference, but it's not very likely that some guy would just pick out a name like that out of his ass, don't you think?"

"Get outta here," the young man barked. "I don't know anything this Will Traveler guy."

"Fine," Allison replied. "Point me to someone that does then."

"I don't know anybody that knows who that is, okay, little girl?"

"For some reason, I have a hard time believing you," Allison said with a mischievous smile.

"And why is that?"

"Let's just say I can read people," Allison replied. She got up closer to the young man's face and smirked at him.

"You're not very good at it then," the young man said. "I'm not lying when I tell you I don't know a Will Traveler. Go look somewhere else."

Allison backed away from the young man and started for the door. However, she turned back around and asked, "Is this your store?"

"Yup."

"Really? I could've sworn I read this place was owned by some woman named Maya."

"Maya's dead," the young man blurted. "She's been dead for months. This is my store now."

Allison nodded her head and watched the young man disappear into the rows of bookshelves in the back. She tapped her fingers against the doorframe as she looked around the store one last time. Sighing to herself, she stepped out the bookshop and let the door slam close behind her.

-Asphodel Meadows-

The Baron's suede recliner was turned facing away from the fire now. Instead, it sat before the long, matching suede couch, upon which Jay, Tyler, and Will idly sat. Standing on the right side of the recliner was the Porter with his hands stuck in his army green jacket pockets. The men in the black suits that surrounded the room before had moved out and were now spread all throughout the compound. Only the Baron, the Porter, and the three boys remained in the cozy, warm living room.

Jay, Tyler, and Will eagerly leaned forward and listened closely to the Baron's words. They'd been itching to find these answers for so long and it appeared that they were just about to be handed to them on a silver platter. Remembering they'd need hard evidence, Will quickly grabbed his backpack and reached inside. He felt around the bottom of the black and gray backpack before finding the small, silver handheld video camera he had been so accustomed to carrying around with him. Before, it had been used to set his friends up. Now, it was being used to set them free.

"So those answers," Will started, "you mind giving 'em to us now?"

The Baron looked up from his clasped hands and sighed. Will stuck his right hand into the black strap around the side of the camera and flipped off the black, rubber top shielding the camera lens. He pressed the record button on the back of the video camera and waited for the Baron to speak. "What I'm about to tell you will shatter everything you think you know about this country," he said gravely. Staring at the boys with a questioning look, he asked, "Are you sure you want to know this?"

"We wouldn't have come this far if we didn't," Jay replied, shaking his head.

"Alright then," the Baron replied. Clearing his raspy throat, he began, "The majority of this country has no idea what it is, but I belong to a secret organization known only as the Fourth Branch. The Fourth Branch is a secret society comprised of the most powerful and influential men and women of our country. For centuries, we have been behind the scenes, controlling this country, steering it toward the right direction."

Jay's face transformed into a grim look of confusion and shock. His eyes widened as his mouth began to open wider and wider. Beside him, Tyler leaned forward, staring at the Baron with a baffled expression on his face. Will, however, appeared quite calm and stoic as he recorded the Baron's confession.

"Many people forget that when this country was founded, democracy was not a proven, accepted form of government. There had not been a successful Western democracy since Athens. And in many ways, America was viewed as a great experiment. Our founding fathers wanted independence from England, and they needed to unify a fledgling country populated by a multinational constituency to win the war. What better way to rally a disparate army against the oppressors than to promise the common man a voice in the new government? This was the great promise of early American democracy," the Baron recited with much confidence and poise. Still staring right into Will's camera, he continued, "However, our founding fathers knew that if this kind of democracy were to work, it would need to have safeguards put into place. That is where the Fourth Branch comes in. The Fourth Branch is a group seated above the three branches – Executive, Legislative, and Judicial – whose purpose it is to implement its own set of checks and balances on the government to guide the true course of our country."

As the Baron spoke, the three boys' face twisted and contorted into strange expressions. Jay's jaw was nearly on the floor as he stared at the Baron with frightful eyes. In between Jay and Will, Tyler sat with a frightened and confused look on his face. It seemed like so much to take in at the time. His eyes continuously blinked as he stared at the Baron's straight, skeletal face. Holding onto the video camera tightly, Will's mouth gaped open and his face changed into a dismal, worried sight. He could feel his body shaking, but he did his best to make himself appear strong and steadfast in front of Tyler and Jay.

"What more can you tell us?" Jay asked, eager to know more.

"That's all I know," the Baron replied, shaking his head. "I'm sorry."

"There's no way that's it!" Tyler interjected.

"I'm sorry, but that's all I can say," the Baron said.

"It's okay," Will interceded. He closed the screen protruding from the side of his video camera and turned the device off. "We'll make due with what we have. It's not enough to expose the Fourth Branch, but it's enough to grab attention. And besides, it's one more step towards the finish line and I'm fine with that."

"Listen," the Baron said, "this isn't the end of your journey."

Will nodded. "I didn't expect this to be a jog down the street."

The Baron nodded back and stood up from the recliner. "You boys have a long, long road ahead of you. Come. Dinner should be ready by now." The Baron started for the door with the three boys following after him. Behind Tyler came the Porter, his hands still in his pockets.

In the dining room of the ranch house, the Baron sat at the head of the table with the boys taking separate seats around the long, rectangular, wooden table. The Porter sat down beside the Baron and waited patiently for the food to be served. The dining room was a fairly spacious room with a large table in the center and an extravagant chandelier hanging above it. There was nothing decorating the room save for a painting of the Baron at one end of the room. At the other end of the dining room entered the food servers.

Three young men walked into the room carrying plates of food, which they set all around the table. A fourth young man entered the room with a few glass cups and a pitcher of water. He placed a cup in front of each person at the table and poured all of them ice water.

The Baron placed a napkin on his lap and smiled widely as he looked at the food set out before him and his guests. He waved at the food and said, "C'mon. Eat up!"

Though Tyler was a lot more courteous than he looked, he quickly reached for the pan-seared scallops on the plate nearest to him. The tiny circular bivalve was wrapped in crispy bacon. Tyler stuffed his mouth with two of them as he passed the plate over to Jay. The Baron smiled at the boys as he watched them eat. The Porter, on the other hand, had a rather blank expression on his face as he cut at the steak on his plate. As a plate of medium-rare-grilled steaks reached him, Will grabbed a piece with his fork and passed it on. It had been quite a long time since he had a dinner like this. Although he'd had a few big dinners with Jay and Tyler back at New Haven, none of them compared to something like this. His eyes gazed away at the cornucopia of food as his mind drifted back in time.

-Soleri, AZ – Eighteen Years Ago-

At eight-years-old, Will was already rather smart. He sat in his tiny bedroom at his family's trailer home under a dim, yellow light. The pencil in his hand moved in strange directions as he finished his homework for school. He placed the last period at the end of his sentence and closed up the spiral notebook he wrote in. Just as he shoved the notebook and pencil to the corner of his tiny desk, he heard a loud knock at the trailer door. Gleefully, his eyes widened and he hurried out to the living room.

Will grabbed at the doorknob and flung the door open. Standing behind the door was his Uncle David who hid his face behind a box wrapped in red and blue gift wrap. "Uncle David!" Will joyfully shouted.

David brought the box away from his face and smiled widely at his nephew who jumped into his embrace. He hugged Will back and stepped into the trailer. He was wearing a light blue dress shirt and a pair of black slacks with a heavy, black jacket over it. As he closed the door behind him, he rubbed his monstrous hand against Will's hair.

"Jeez you got tall," he teased. "How long's it been? Five years?"

"It's only been a year, Uncle David!" Will laughed as he held onto his uncle's hand.

"Guess what I got ya'?" David asked as he showed Will the present in his other hand.

"What?! What?!" Will repeated, jumping up and down excitedly.

"I dunno," David teased. "Guess!"

"Uh… a toy?"

"Of course it's a toy. Guess what kind."

"Um… a robot?"

"Nope."

"A car?"

"Nope."

As Will kept guessing, his mother appeared from the kitchen around the corner. She threw her arms up in the air and smiled over at Will and David. She shuffled over to David and gave him a hug and a kiss. "You could've at least called, y'know!" she told David.

"I wanted to surprise you guys," David said as he let go of Carissa. "How are you?"

"Pretty good."

"Is my brother still sending checks?"

"Yup," Carissa answered, nodding.

"Good. Good," David replied. He smelled the odor of food coming from the kitchen. "Dinner smells great!"

"You came just in time!" Carissa said with a cheerful smile. "I'm just finishing up!"

"Awesome," David cheered.

"Mommy, look what Uncle David got me!" Will shouted up at his mother, showing her the box David brought with him.

"Oh, isn't that nice! Did you thank him?" Carissa asked.

Will quickly turned to David and happily yelled, "Thank you, Uncle David!"

"No problem, little buddy," David replied.

"C'mon, take a seat. The food's almost ready," Carissa told David, waving at the small dining table. She turned to Will as she walked away and said, "Stephen, put the gift down and help Mommy set the table please."

"Okay!" Will said as he set the box down on the couch. He ran after his mother and grabbed plates and forks from the kitchen cabinets.

Meanwhile, David took a seat at the small dining table in the cramped living room. There was a small TV, a brown couch, a wooden coffee table, a white drawer with a lamp and picture frames, and several piles of clothes scattered across the carpet. David sat down at the square dining table and tapped his thick fingers against the white tabletop. Seconds later, Will and his mother came back from the kitchen. Will set the table while Carissa put a plate of spaghetti in the center of the table along with some fresh baked bread. As Will took a seat, Carissa went back into the kitchen and grabbed a plate of breaded chicken breasts, which she set on the table beside the spaghetti.

Carissa sat down beside Will and smiled. Sighing, she motioned at the food and said, "Okay! Let's eat!"

-----

"Will," someone said. Will's eyes stared straight at the center of the table. The voice called again, "Will!"

Snapped out of his trance, Will looked up at Jay. Jay stared at him with a quizzical look on his face. Will blinked twice then asked, "Yeah?"

"You mind passing the bread?"

"Yeah, sorry," Will replied as he picked up the plate of rolls and handed it across to Jay.

-Denver, CO-

A polished, black Ford Crown Vic with pitch black windows and glistening, chrome wheels sat in the middle of an alley behind the FBI Field Office in Denver. The car's engine was still running and smoke was drifting out the exhaust tip. Walking from around the corner, Agent Chambers headed towards the Crown Vic. He folded the left side of his black overcoat over the right side as he reached for the handle of the passenger side door. Stepping inside the car, Chambers looked over at the driver's seat where Gabriel Fog awaited.

"Let's hurry this up," Chambers grunted as he closed the door behind him.

"I agree," Gabriel sighed. "What do you have?"

"Apparently, Traveler's real name is Stephen Mailer. Guy's up top never revealed that," Chambers informed Gabriel. Gabriel nodded. "Anyways, Traveler's the son of an oil baron who's got real estate all over this country. His nearest home is actually here in Colorado."

"Where's it at?" Gabriel eagerly wanted to know.

"Asphodel Meadows."

"Asphodel Meadows?" Gabriel repeated.

"It's a place a few hours from here. Approximately six," Chambers answered.

"You're sure they're there?"

"That's where I'd be if I were them," Chambers replied. He reached into the inside of his overcoat and pulled out a piece of printer paper. "I'll make sure my guys stay off of 'em. You just make sure you get them."

Gabriel nodded and said, "Alright. I'll get 'em."

"Okay." Chambers reached for the passenger side door and opened it. He started to climb out the Crown Vic; his right leg was already out the door, but he stopped. Turning back to Gabriel, he warned, "Make sure you do your job. Don't end up like your father."

Gabriel's eyes lifted up and he shot a glare at Chambers. Chambers smugly smiled and nodded at him as he stepped out the car and slammed the door behind him. Through his rearview mirror, Gabriel could see Chambers trotting through the alley and around the corner back into the Field Office. Gabriel sighed once to himself and shifted the car back to Drive before setting off down the other end of the alley.

-Deer Harbor, ME-

Allison sat at a table inside a café down the street from the bookstore. Flipped open in front of her was her laptop while in her hand was a paper cup filled with coffee. Though it was quite late at night, there were still a few people inside the café other than the two cashiers and the three baristas behind the counter. An old, bald man entered the café with his gray-haired wife and walked up to the front counter, where one of the cashiers cheerfully greeted them. Seated along the front of the café at the tall stools was a group of teenagers nursing cups of coffee in their hands. At the lone, circular table in the corner across the room sat a middle-aged couple, sitting closely together with their hands cupped around one another.

Allison took a sip of her coffee as she clicked something on her laptop. As she waited for the screen to load, her eyes drifted up to the TV bolted to the wall and hanging behind the cash register. The news was still reporting about the recent return of Burchell, Fog, and Traveler. The three boys' mug shots were plastered up on the screen.

Allison pulled her eyes away from them as she read an article on Maya on her laptop. The article was fairly short; nothing great and not much information. It was just a report that she was found dead in her home with several of her valuables missing. The journalist deemed the incident a robbery-homicide. Allison finished reading the short article and closed her laptop.

Quietly thinking, she leaned against her left fist and stared out the window. The old couple took a seat at the table behind Maya, causing her to jump at the sound of a chair screeching against the linoleum. She turned around to face the old man and his wife and smiled. She leaned in towards them and asked, "Excuse me, do you guys mind if I ask you a question?"

"Oh, no, go ahead," the old woman said.

"Thank you," Allison cheerfully replied. "Um… you know that old bookstore down the street?"

"Yes."

"Did you know the person that owned it – Maya?" Allison asked.

The old man nodded and answered, "Yes, we knew her. Everyone in this town pretty much knows everyone else."

"Really?" Allison replied. "Can you tell me anything about her? Like who'd she hang out with, what else did she do, anything."

"These last few years, we didn't see her around town as much. After the incident with her brother, she became a bit reclusive; started hanging out with odd-looking out-of-towners."

"Were they – um – bad people?"

"Not really sure," the old woman said as she sipped her coffee. "They rarely came around town. The only one I remember seeing quite a few times was a young man probably the same age as you."

"What did he look like?"

"Sorta short, brown hair, blue eyes," the old woman answered.

"He didn't look like a bad kid, though," the old man chimed in. "Some of the guys she brought around here – they looked tough, mean, kinda out-of-touch, but not this one. He-He was different."

"How so?" Allison asked, intrigued.

"I remember he was quiet and shy," the old woman said, "but he was a nice kid. Polite, friendly; he looked like he really cared about Maya."

"What happened to him?"

The old man shrugged, as did his wife. The old man replied, "One day, he just stopped showing up. He always used to be around the bookshop with Maya, but he just suddenly disappeared."

"How long ago was that?"

"Oh my, probably two years ago," the old man answered. "It was quite a while ago."

"What about Maya? What happened to her?" Allison asked.

The old woman shook her head and said, "She was killed. Police say she was shot during a robbery."

"It was odd," the old man added. "It all happened so sudden. I still remember that week."

"That week?"

"Oh, she died the week those boys bombed the Drexler Museum down in New York. I guess someone around here was connected to them," the old man said. "Lots of cops and FBI agents running around looking for answers."

Allison nodded and said, "So I heard." She sighed and finished the rest of her coffee. Her eyes stared back out the window and she asked, "What about the guy that runs her bookshop now? Who's he?"

"We don't really know him," the old man answered. "He kind of just showed up one day."

"So he's not family or anything?"

"No, no," the old woman said. "We were pretty close to Maya's parents. Her mother was a single child and her dad was adopted. Maya and her brother were all that were left."

"I see," Allison nodded. "Do you know where Maya used to live?"

"Her house is by the edge of town near the marina. You want the address?" the old man asked.

"Yes, please," Allison vigorously nodded. The old man scribbled the address down on a napkin and handed it to Allison. She smiled at the old couple and said, "Thank you for your time. I really appreciate it."

Allison started to get up and leave when the old man stopped her. He called out to her as she tossed her empty cup into the trash. "You know, we don't really get too many visitors around here. There a reason you're so interested in Maya?"

"I'm an old friend of hers," Allison lied. "I've been away in Europe. I just came back and heard she died. I wanted to come pay my respects."

"She lived here her whole life. Probably left once or twice for vacation," the old man said. He furrowed his brow in concentration on Allison's face. "You don't look very familiar."

Allison flashed the old man a fake smile and replied, "We met over the computer when we were still in high school." Before the old man could ask another question, Allison hurried out the coffee shop. The old man and woman watched her suspiciously as she exited the café and crossed the street nervously.

-Asphodel Meadows-

Jay walked down an empty hallway inside the Baron's luxurious home. The mahogany-colored hall was adorned with picture frames and paintings hanging from the wall. There was also a vase filled with purple and red flowers seated atop an antique drawer. Jay walked passed the vase and looked over at the photograph hanging next to it.

Jay stopped as he observed the picture before him. It was of a tall, lanky man with brown hair and two boys standing at his sides. One of the boys was a bit taller than the other, but not by much. The man's brown hair was slicked back and he wore a black sweater while both his boys wore matching blue sweatshirts and slacks. They all had sunny smiles on their faces.

"My two sons," the Baron said from behind as he walked over to Jay. Surprised, Jay snapped his head to the left and wryly smiled at the Baron. The Baron stared at the picture alongside Jay and shook his head. "It's been so long since I've seen either of them."

"What are their names?" Jay asked.

"David and Jacob," the Baron answered. "They're all grown up now. They don't look anything like in this picture." Jay smiled a little and nodded his head. The Baron turned to him and asked, "Do you plan on having any kids of your own?"

Jay looked up at the Baron with a blank stare then looked away, blinking his eyes. He hung his head low as he stared at the base of the vase. Clearing his throat, he finally answered, "Um… yeah, maybe. Depends."

"On what?"

"Whether or not we can come out of this clean," Jay said gravely.

The Baron nodded his head and put a hand on Jay's shoulder. "Have faith, son, you'll find her."

Jay's head quickly snapped towards the Baron; he didn't remember telling him about Kim. "You know about Kim?" he asked excitedly.

The Baron shook his head and let go of Jay's shoulders. He started to turn around and said, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have."

"No, wait! If you know something about Kim you better tell me right now!" Jay demanded.

"I don't know anything about your girlfriend, Mr. Burchell," the Baron hurriedly replied.

"Yes, you do! I know you do!" Jay shouted. He grabbed the Baron by the shoulder and turned him around. "Please, you have to tell me anything you know! If she's in trouble, I need to find her. This is all my fault. She's not-she can't be punished for what I've done!"

"Your priority is to expose and crush the Fourth Branch," the Baron said sternly. "I suggest you stick to one priority at a time, Mr. Burchell."

Jay's mouth opened, but nothing came out. The Baron nodded to him and walked away, disappearing down the hallway. Standing still, Jay stared down the desolate hallway as his heart raced.

Upstairs, Tyler sat on the edge of his bed with the remote for the TV in his hand. He had already changed his clothes. He now wore a brown t-shirt with checkered black and white pants. His blonde hair wasn't gelled anymore either. His eyes were fixated on the glowing TV screen as he changed channels every few seconds. Finally, his finger stopped moving and he set the remote by his side.

The TV screen showed a shot of the Fog Financial building in New York City. A Korean newscaster was standing in front of it with a man in a navy blue suit with a light blue dress shirt underneath. The newscaster smiled at the screen and lifted the microphone to her lips.

"What was once a place of glory has now become a building full of scandals and lies," the newscaster stated. "I'm standing here in front of the Fog Financial building in upper Manhattan with Fog Financial's acting Chairman of the Board, William Caruthers." She turned to the man and asked, "How are you today, William?"

Caruthers was a skinny man of average height who had dark brown hair that was nicely combed back. He had on a pair of wire-framed glasses sitting on his pointy nose. He leaned into the microphone and said with a smile, "I'm doing just fine, Kelly. How are you?"

"I'm doing great, Mr. Caruthers, but it seems Fog Financial isn't doing so well ever since its founder, Carlton Fog, was arrested on federal criminal charges three months ago. He's currently at the U.S. Medical Center of Federal Criminals just outside of New York while his appeals are currently being exhausted in court. Do you have any updates on Mr. Fog that you can give us today, Mr. Caruthers?"

"Um… all I'm allowed to say right now is that Carlton is doing fine and we hope to see him back on his feet soon."

"So I take it you believe he's innocent."

"Of course!" Caruthers immediately answered. "No doubt in my mind that Mr. Fog would have anything to do with terrorists."

"You failed to mention that one of those terrorists is his own son, Tyler Fog, who disappeared three months ago also," Kelly replied.

Tyler bit on the fingernails on his right hand as he scoffed at the interview. Mr. Caruthers shrugged his shoulders at the newscaster and said, "I assure you, Ms. Kim, Carlton Fog would never condone any act of malice toward this great country, nevertheless an act as heinous as the bombing of one of our country's most treasured museums. Undoubtedly, Mr. Fog loves his son with all his heart, but – "

Tyler angrily turned the TV off and shook his head. He tossed the remote control back onto the bed as he stood up and walked over to the window beside his bed. He stared outside at the black sky and looked below at the men in black guarding the Baron's property. They all held guns and wore earpieces as they strode around the estate; it reminded Tyler of his own father's place in Elysium. Sighing, Tyler walked away from the window and plopped himself down on the bed. Crossing his arms over his chest, he stared up at the white ceiling and drifted away.

Somewhere downstairs, Will wandered into a small room in a desolate corner of the ranch house. He reached inside the room and felt around the pitch black wall for a light switch. Once he found it, he flicked it on and the luminescent white lights burst to life a second later. The room was a private gym with items ranging from dumbbells to weight-lifting machines to a red punching bag.

Will strolled over to the heavy, red punching bag hanging in the back of the room and grabbed it by the sides. It had been a while since he touched a punching bag. This one was a lot thicker than the one Will had become accustomed to using. He balled his right hand into a fist as his mind faded back to his younger days.

-Soleri, AZ – Fifteen Years Ago-

"So you're really living here now?" Will asked his uncle as he followed him up to the front porch of a two-story house. Will was about twelve-years-old, but he was rather short. He was probably four-feet-tall, maybe even less. His shaggy brown hair covered his forehead, but his black eye was still quite visible. There was also a small cut near the left side of his cheek. It didn't look like it bothered him, though, as he brightly smiled at his uncle.

David nodded his head and grinned at Will. He pulled out a key and unlocked the front door. "Yup, I'm already all moved in too."

"Cool!" Will shouted as David opened the door. He followed David into the foyer where he stripped off his dirty white shoes. "What made you change your mind?"

"I just thought I'd like to be closer to family," David said, smiling. "C'mon, I wanna show you something."

"What is it?!" Will anxiously wanted to know.

"You'll see," David teased as he grabbed Will by the wrist and dragged him down a small flight of stairs into the basement.

The basement of his house was still fairly empty. Aside from a few cardboard boxes piled high in one corner there was only one other thing in the basement. It was a red punching bag dangling from a rusty, silver chair. David turned to Will and smiled as he led him over to the punching bag. He grabbed the top of the punching bag and looked down at his nephew.

"You know what this is?" he asked.

"A punching bag," Will said nonchalantly.

David chuckled and said, "Yup. Exactly."

"Why do you have one?" Will asked. "Mom says fighting's bad."

"Is that why you have that black eye?" David asked, pointing at Will's right eye.

Will hurriedly shook his head and replied, "No, I just… don't know how to fight. Everyone else is bigger than me."

"Size doesn't matter, Stephen," David said, shaking his head. He crouched down so he'd be eye-to-eye with Will. "All that matters is skill and courage. You gotta know how to fight and you gotta be brave enough to be aggressive. You're not gonna win just by tossing a few punches around."

"But that's how Marty beat me," Will replied.

David chuckled and rubbed Will's hair. "Marty's an idiot then." Will started laughing as David continued, "Did you know your Uncle David knows Krav Maga?"

"Huh?"

"I thought so," David replied, chuckling. "Krav Maga is an Israeli fighting system."

"Oh, like Tae Kwon Do?" Will asked.

"No, nothing like Tae Kwon Do!" David said enthusiastically. "That stuff you see in Kung Fu movies and crap isn't real. It's all for show! Krav Maga teaches you how truly fight and defend yourself. Do you know what the point of fighting is?"

"To win?"

"No, to survive," David said. "Fighting's all about survival. In real life, you don't fight to uphold your honor or to-to win a belt or something like that! You fight to survive! For example, say a guy comes at you with a gun – "

"I'm twelve-years-old," Will interrupted.

"Alright. Say a guy comes at your mother with a gun. What'll you do?"

"Call 911."

David laughed and said, "By the time the cops get there the guy would've shot your mother. Now you don't want that right?" Will nodded. "That means you have to know how to defend yourself. You need to learn how to survive."

"I'm just a kid, Uncle David."

"Yeah, but so are those bullies at your school," David replied. "Don't you wanna be able to defend yourself next time they pick on you?" Will looked at his uncle with somber eyes and nodded. "Alright. Now, you can't your mom this, okay? She'll kill me if she ever found out I was teaching you how to fight."

Will chuckled and nodded his head. "I won't tell Mom. I promise!"

"Okay, kido, I believe ya'!" David stuck both hands out in front of Will and said, "Before I show you anything, show me how you punch."

Will balled up both his fists and reeled his right arm back. He threw a punch straight at David's left palm. He threw another punch with his other fist then another then another.

David nodded his head and said, "You're punching all wrong."

"But that's how the other boys at school punch," Will muttered.

"Well, they're idiots then like that Marty kid or whatever his name is," David replied. "If you wanna get the most strength out of a punch, you gotta put all your weight into it. Watch me." David balled up his right hand into a fist and drew it back. Instead of throwing it straight forward, he twisted his hips around then threw the punch with his upper body moving along with the punch. "It might not look very different, but you'll be able to feel the difference. And so will whoever you're punching. Now, you try it."

"Okay," Will replied as he imitated David's stance. He replicated David's punch and looked at his uncle.

"Good! Good! Did you feel a difference?"

"No," Will mumbled.

"Do it again." Will threw another punch. "One more." Again, Will imitated David's punch. David nodded and smiled as he shouted, "Again!"

-----

Will grabbed the sides of the punching bag again as it swayed frontward and backwards from his punches. After he had the punching bag stabilized, he looked around the room once more then headed out. He flipped the light switch off and walked down the empty hallway.

-New York FBI Field Office-

Agent Rex jolted up in her seat as she felt the phone in her pocket vibrate. It had been fairly quiet at the Field Office; there were no new leads and nothing else to work on. She had nearly fallen asleep at her desk. She pulled the thin Blackberry out of her pant pocket and pressed the answer button.

"Special Agent Rex," she answered.

"I have something for you," a woman cryptically said.

"Who is this?" Rex asked with a quizzical expression on her face.

"You don't need to know," the woman answered. "I have something you need. Information, about the Drexler Bombing suspects."

Immediately, Rex sat up and felt around her desk for a pen and paper. She dragged over her notepad from the edge of her desk and pulled a blue pen out of the pen holder beside her computer. "Okay. Okay," she repeated. "What do you have?"

"Not over the phone. Come meet me."

"Where?"

There was a pause for a moment. A second later, the woman answered, "Lower Manhattan. Canal Street. By the oriental dentist office. Come alone or you won't see me."

"Alright, but – " The phone line died before Rex could reply. Sighing, she flipped her cellphone closed and set it on the desk.

-Denver FBI Field Office-

Chambers stood front and center at the bullpen. His hands held onto his waist as he stared up at the series of monitors in front of him. At his side stood Agent Mills; he was leaning back against the edge of another agent's desk with his arms folded across his chest. He impatiently looked up at the monitors as they flashed to life.

Each of the five monitors depicted a group of SWAT members crowded inside what appeared to be the back of a van. They were all equipped with rifles and handguns and fitted with bulletproof vests and heavy-duty helmets. The camera was it night-vision mode as evidenced by the noisy green tint of the screen. On the lower left-hand corner of each screen were: New York, Malibu, Houston, Minn., and Denver.

"This is New York SWAT, we're in position," the leader of one SWAT said.

"Roger that," Chambers replied. "New York SWAT stand by and await orders."

"We've got Minnesota."

"This is Houston. We're in position and online, sir," another SWAT leader relayed.

"Alright. Malibu, Denver, what's going on?" Chambers asked.

"We've got Malibu scouted, sir. No activity reported," the fourth SWAT leader answered.

"Denver?" Chambers repeated.

"Denver SWAT is in position. We're ready to act on your orders, SAC Chambers."

Nodding assuredly to himself, Chambers ordered, "All units stand by and wait for my command." All the leaders of the SWATs nodded and awaited Chambers' further instructions. Crossing his arms over his chest, Chambers turned to Mills and asked, "What do you think?"

"New York's too far away. Minnesota, Malibu, and Houston are possible if they managed to get on a private jet or something," Mills accounted. "I think we should send in Denver."

Chambers nodded and replied, "I agree." Turning back to the monitors, he said, "Denver SWAT, you're on."

"Roger Denver, we're moving in," the SWAT leader replied.

-----

The ranch house in Denver was a massive, grandiose mansion surrounded by stables and a garden on the side. The SWAT van was parked a few yards away from the mansion and hidden from sight. The back of the van flew open as men in black clothing filed out onto the gravel road outside. The clamor of heavy combat boots filled the open air. Fortunately, the guards pacing around the ranch house were still enough not to hear the sound.

The leader of the SWAT team scurried across the dirt ground as he shuffled to the boundary separating the oil baron's ranch house from the rest of the meadow. The man crouched down and raised his right fist in front of his men. All of the SWAT members stopped in their tracks and waited for their leader's orders. Scouting the area, the SWAT team leader could count around seven guards watching the house. There could have been more, but with the black sky hanging over them, the leader couldn't tell.

Pulling out a pair of binoculars, the leader put them up to his eyes and stared through one of the windows. The shadow of a man brushed passed the curtains of the window and disappeared down the other end of the window frame.

"We have movement," the SWAT team leader noted into his mouthpiece. Whispering, he continued, "There are approximately seven guards watching the house and one person inside. What should we do?"

"Secure the house," Chambers instructed. "Do whatever you have to do."

-Lower Manhattan-

Nicole Rex parked her car outside of a dentist office on the corner of Canal Street. Unlocking the doors, she pushed the driver side door open and stepped onto the busy street. Several cars passed by her as she walked around the black sedan and onto the sidewalk. Looking around, she searched for whoever could have made the call. All she knew about the person was that it was a woman.

There was a young woman in her mid-twenties wearing a white baseball cap and gray sweater standing on the other corner. She appeared too young to be the woman on the phone though. Rex walked closer to the dentist office and stood there with her hands in her pockets. The cool wind dragged her hair across her face. She grabbed at them with her slender fingers in an attempt to brush them aside from her face.

Suddenly, Rex felt something cold and hard touching the base of her spine. She tried to turn around, but the object pushed harder against her spine.

"Don't look back," the woman from the phone said.

Rex looked at her from the side of her eyes; she couldn't tell who it was, though. Nodding, she replied, "Alright, I got it. You said you had information for me, right?"

"Start walking," the woman instructed. Wearing a dark blue baseball cap and a black jacket with the hood over her head, Jan Marlow led Rex up the street. She made sure to stay close to Rex so no one would notice the small gun in her hand, which she half covered with the long sleeves of her jacket.

"Where are we going?" Rex asked.

"Just keep walking," Marlow told her. She looked around once then said, "Those boys are innocent – the ones you and everybody else in this country is after. They're innocent."

"How do you know that?" Rex wanted to know.

"Just trust me."

"It's kinda hard to trust someone who has a gun to my back," Rex said in a sarcastic tone.

"I don't have proof, but I know they're innocent. Chambers is in on it."

"In on what?!"

"There's a conspiracy surrounding this. I don't know what it's purpose is, but it has something to do with the Drexler Bombing and possibly all the other bombings that have occurred since."

"What makes you say this?"

"You ever heard of Guillermo Borjes and Jan Marlow?" Marlow asked.

"Yeah, they were the agents on the Drexler case with Chambers," Rex answered. "Borjes was killed in action and Marlow was dirty."

"Borjes was killed in action, but Marlow wasn't dirty," Marlow told her. "It was Chambers."

"That's crazy," Rex retorted. "We have proof that Marlow was in collusion with the suspects."

"What proof? Chambers' gunshot wound? That's not proof; he was shot while trying to kill Marlow."

"There's recordings," Rex added. "Recordings involving Marlow and a man named Joseph. I've heard them myself."

"They're fabricated," Marlow said.

"How would you know that?"

"I know," Marlow replied. "Turn the corner."

Rex turned left down a street and asked Marlow, "Is this all you brought me here for? To tell me lies?"

"No, I brought you here to give you information."

"How do I know the information you've got is clean?"

"You don't. You just have to trust it," Marlow replied. "In my search, I found out something that could connect Chambers to this. It's gonna take some digging, but I'm sure you can handle it, right, Nicole?"

Rex's brow furrowed and she asked, "What is it?"

"Do a cross-reference check on Fred Chambers and Jack Freed."

"The former Deputy Director of Homeland?"

"Exactly."

"What's he got to do with this?" Rex wondered.

"You'll find out. The cross-reference will pull up two results – one having to do with the FBI and another involving Chambers' unit in Palestine from the late 90's and early 2000's. The latter is the one you want. Follow the trail; it'll lead you to the truth."

"Can I ask you what this has to do with the Drexler Bombing?"

"Like I said, it'll lead you to the truth," Marlow said.

Marlow started to pull the gun off of Rex, but Rex suddenly spun around. She threw an elbow at Marlow's face, but Marlow ducked and turned. She started up the street as Rex pulled her gun out its holster and fired at her. She missed both shots and chased after Marlow. Grabbing her walkie-talkie with the other hand, she shouted, "This is Special Agent Rex! I am in pursuit of a federal suspect! I need back-up! Repeat: I need back-up! I'm on Canal Street near Chinatown!"

-Deer Harbor, ME-

Looking down at the napkin in her hand, Allison read off the address written on it. She looked up at the house before her and nodded to herself. Maya's two-story home looked exactly as she left it three months ago. Allison stepped onto the cobblestone path, passed the driveway, and up to the front porch. She grabbed the doorknob and turned it, hoping it had been left unlocked. When she realized it was still locked, she reached into the backpack slung around her shoulder and searched for a hairpin. Finding one, she grabbed the doorknob with one hand while sticking the hairpin into the keyhole with the other. She jiggled the doorknob around a bit with the hairpin and listened for a soft clicking sound. She heard it and smiled. The door had opened.

Before entering the house, Allison looked around. Scanning the area around Maya's property, she hoped no one was watching. She slowly closed the door behind her as she entered the foyer. Quietly, she crept towards the living room and looked inside. There was no one there. All Maya's things were still intact, though. Walking through the living room, Allison saw a picture frame atop the TV set. Inside the frame was a photograph of Maya and a brown-haired man. Allison couldn't see the young man's face as he had turned to the right and attempted to cover his face. Under his big palm, though, Allison could see a big, toothy grin.

Allison set the picture frame back on the TV set and wandered around the house a bit more. She found the door leading down into the basement and opened it. It was about ten o'clock at night now so Allison couldn't see a thing down the flight of stairs. Reaching to the side of the room, Allison tried to turn the light on. However, the light switch wasn't working. Opening her backpack, she looked to see if she had packed a flashlight. She hadn't. Sighing impatiently, she went into the kitchen and turned the light on. She opened one of the drawers near the counter and looked inside for a flashlight. In the back of the tiny drawer was a small, blue flashlight. Allison pushed the switch up to see if it worked.

Smiling to herself, Allison turned the flashlight back off and headed back into the basement. At the top of the staircase, she turned the flashlight on again and started down the stairs. The creaking of the wooden steps felt eerie considering the dark, creepy atmosphere of the abandoned house. Allison remained steadfast and determined, though, as she reached the bottom of the stairs and looked around with the flashlight. She flashed the light upon the far corner of the basement and found a single filing cabinet sitting there.

There were four rows of file folders in the cabinet. Allison opened the top one and drew out a large manila folder. Inside was the profile of a man named John Arturo. The profile looked similar to the one Allison's own father had of Will Traveler. Allison closed the folder, put it back inside, and pulled out another one. The second folder she grabbed belonged to a younger-looking man named Keith Blanchard. In the back of the folder, there were several copies of a passport. Allison's eyes squinted as she attempted to read the information on the Russian passport.

"What is this place?" Allison asked herself as she shuffled through the second row of file folders.

-Lower Manhattan-

Marlow raced up the street, wending passed crowds of pedestrians walking across the crosswalk. Several of them shouted at her as she shoved them aside. Marlow couldn't believe that only three months ago she was the one doing the chasing. Her breath became heavier as she sped up the street. About five yards behind her was Agent Rex, her 10 mm enclosed in her hands.

Marlow didn't dare look back as she rushed across the street. A red car driving by came to a skidding halt as Marlow hurried passed it. Another car coming from the other lane stopped right before it hit Marlow. The man driving it stuck his head out and shouted at her as she ran onto the sidewalk and raced up the street. The car was about to start down the street again when Rex ran through. She aimed her gun at Marlow's back, but there were too many people around here. Cursing under her breath, Rex lowered her weapon and continued pursuit.

As she ran up the street, Marlow could heard the sound of police sirens wailing a few blocks away. Speeding up, she hurried through the crosswalk and reached the entrance of a subway station. Looking across the street, she saw Rex getting closer and closer. Marlow's heartbeat elevated as she quickly ran down the concrete steps. Above, Rex reached the top of the stairwell and ran after Marlow.

At the bottom of the staircase, Rex's eyes glanced all around the room in search of Marlow. Calmly and cautiously, Rex craned her neck to look above the heads of people walking passed her. She softly pushed aside several people as she hopped over the guard railing. A guard walked over to her to stop her, but she flashed him her badge.

"I'm sorry, Agent Rex," the guard said.

"It's alright," Rex replied. "Help me look for a woman in a black sweater and blue hat."

"What is she? White? Black? Hispanic?"

"Black," Rex replied. The guard nodded and started searching as Rex walked across the platform in search of Marlow.

In a corner of the subway station sat a homeless man in a dark brown overcoat. He wore a green beanie and had on a pair of gloves. He held a bottle of beer as he sat on stacks of old, crumpled newspapers. Sitting beside him, her knees raised up, was Marlow. She had taken her hood off and wore the cap with the bill lowered over her eyes. She looked across the platform at Agent Rex who had just passed by her. Taking off her black sweater, Marlow handed it to the bum beside her.

"Here you go. A new coat," Marlow said as she dropped the hoodie beside the homeless man. Turning back once more to look at Rex, Marlow hurried up the stairs.

-Denver FBI Field Office-

"Damn it!" Chambers screeched as the last SWAT team came up with nothing. Putting his hands to his sides, he shouted, "That's five houses! Where the hell did they go?!"

Mills shook his head quietly and licked his lower lip. "Where could they have gone? They know better than to go back to one of Fog's houses and Burchell's home is a definite no. We must've missed something." He turned to one of the agents and said, "You sure you got all of Roth's known homes?"

"I'm sure," the agent replied. He turned to Chambers who looked back at him knowingly.

"Son of a bitch!" Mills angrily shouted as he kicked a chair down. He turned to Chambers and asked, "What now?"

"Find Jamison Roth. I wanna question him," Chambers answered.

Mills nodded and looked at another agent. "You heard him. Find Roth and get him over here ASAP!"

-Deer Harbor, ME-

There were dozens of folders inside the cabinets of different men and women. Many of them had fake passports while others had double identities.

Allison crouched down and opened the bottom drawer. There was only one folder inside. She reached in and pulled it out. The folder was quite thick. Opening it, she was met by the eyes of Will Traveler. The first page of papers was identical to the profile Allison had found in her father's office. Sifting through the other pages, she found a similar profile, except this one belonged to Daniel Taft. The picture was still of Will Traveler, though.

Closing the folder, Allison opened her backpack and stuffed the folder inside. She zipped the backpack up and slung it around her shoulder. Hurriedly, she turned towards the stairs.

"What do you think you're doing?" someone suddenly asked.

Allison jumped and pointed the flashlight at the direction of the voice. The man from the bookstore was standing there at the bottom of the staircase. He covered his eyes with his hand as Allison waved the flashlight at him.

"Turn that off! Turn that off!" the young man urged.

"What are you doing here?" Allison demanded to know. "You following me?!"

"What am I doing here? I could ask the same to you! You broke in here!" the young man shouted at her. Allison moved the flashlight from the young man's face and looked up at him with worried eyes. "What are you doing in here anyways?"

"N-Nothing," Allison stuttered. "I was hoping a relative was here that I could talk to."

"Well, here I am!" the young man said, sticking his arms out to his sides.

"You? You're a relative of Maya's?" Allison asked.

"I'm her cousin," the young man replied. He stuck his hand out to her for a handshake and introduced himself, "Mike. My name's Mike."

Allison sighed and shook Mike's hand. "I'm Allison. I'm sorry I broke in here. I just really needed to get some information."

"What do you need information for anyway?" Mike wanted to know.

"Like I told you at the store, I'm doing a report on the Drexler Bombing."

"What's that got to do with Maya?"

"I'm not honestly not even sure," Allison answered. Placing her hand on her forehead, she continued, "I actually came to find information on Will Traveler. The name of the bookstore – it just triggered something in me. I thought whoever owned the store might have something on Traveler."

"Sorry, but you're three months too late," Mike replied. "If my cousin did know something then she probably took it to her grave."

"So, you don't know anything about Will Traveler?"

"All I know is what I heard on the news," Mike shrugged.

Allison nodded and said, "Ok. Ok. Sorry. I guess I'll just get leave now then."

"Alright."

Mike turned and led Allison up the stairs. He opened the door for her and looked at her as she passed by. Before leaving the house, Allison turned to Mike and flashed him an awkward smile. "Sorry again for breaking in here. I shouldn't have," Allison said with her head hung low.

Mike smiled back and replied, "It's cool. Don't worry 'bout it."

Allison smiled up at him once again and walked down the cobblestones. As she stepped onto the driveway, passing by Mike's blue car, he reached into his pocket and drew out a cellphone. Closing the door, he dialed a number and waited for a response.

"Hey, it's Mike. We've got a problem. There was some chick snooping around here."

"Did you get a name?"

"Just a first name – Allison," Mike replied.

"Did she take anything? Or see anything?"

"Not that I know of. She was in the basement when I came back."

"The files are in there. Check them. I'll call back with further instructions."

Nodding to himself, Mike replied, "Gotcha'."

-Asphodel Meadows-

The bright green dashes on the black digital clock sitting on Tyler's bedside drawer transformed to form 5:24. Beside the time were the two letters 'A' and 'M'. Outside Tyler's window, the sun was just beginning to rise. The top of it was peering over the horizon already as the heavy, gray clouds around it started to disperse. In his bed, Tyler shook and turned over with the white blankets covering his body. A groan escaped his lips as he hugged the gray pillow next to him.

In the guest room beside Tyler's, Jay was quietly snoring. He remained still as he slept soundly. The only movement he made was when he breathed. His body slowly moved up and down as each breath left his chiseled body. Jay wore nothing but a pair of green boxers. His hair was disheveled and covered his forehead. Sleepily, he grabbed the edge of his blanket and pulled it closer to his chest.

The room on the other side of Tyler's belonged to Will. Inside the room, he stood beside the wide window and stared outside. It looked as if he hadn't gotten much sleep. There were bags under his eyes and his face was wrinkled. His hair was quite scruffy though. He rubbed his fingers against his stubbly jaw line as he observed the warm sunrise and scanned the jagged horizon.

-Soleri, AZ – Ten Years Ago-

Will stood on the balcony of his uncle's home. He was wearing a gray t-shirt with the word 'MARINES' written on it in bold, navy blue letters. He also had on a pair of black jogging pants and wore a pair of navy blue slippers on his feet. His tousled brown hair had gotten a little longer. He had been planning to cut it shorter, but he just couldn't find the time. Leaning against the solid white railing of the balcony, Will contemplated his choice to join the military.

The soft wind of the Arizona air brushed passed Will as David walked in from inside. Will apparently didn't notice him as his face remained straight and his eyes were still staring out at the bright, orange sky. David sighed and leaned against the balcony beside Will. Surprised, Will snapped his head to the right and looked at his uncle.

"Hey, Uncle David," he said somberly.

"Hey, kido," David replied. "Something on your mind? You look a little weary."

"Um... no, I'm just thinking about going away to the Marines," Will answered.

"Having second thoughts?"

"No. No. It's not that. It's just – "

"Hey, I know you're scared. I was scared too when I first enlisted," David said. Will turned to him and looked him in the eyes. "But trust me, that fear, it's not gonna do anything for ya'. You let it in and it'll eat you up."

"Is this supposed to make me feel better, Uncle David? 'Cause it's not," Will replied, smiling.

David chuckled and pushed Will's head off to the side. "I'm just sayin', you have to be strong and brave. You're meant for something greater, Stephen. I know you are."

"What greater purpose could I possibly be meant for?" Will doubtfully asked.

David faced Will and smiled at him proudly. "You're meant to save people."

-----

Eyes fixated on the horizon, Will didn't even hear the Porter entering his room. He stayed standing still with his hands stuffed in his pockets. At the doorway, the Porter knocked his knuckles against the wooden door and looked at Will once he turned.

"The Baron would like to see you and your friends," The Porter notified him. Right away, he turned around and left.

Will could hear his footsteps clamoring down the stairs as he exited the room himself and looked into Jay and Tyler's room. Jay was already up and putting a shirt on, but Tyler, on the other hand, sat on the edge of his bed. His hair was sticking up strangely and dry saliva rested on the corners of his lips. Part of the covers were still on his lap as he sat up and stretched his arms into the air. Jay finished putting on some pants and followed Will out into the hall.

"C'mon, Ty," Jay urged from the doorway.

"Hold on!" Tyler crankily yawned. He shoved the blankets off his lower body and grabbed an orange t-shirt on the floor. He adjusted it over his head and shoulders and left the room with Jay and Will. The three boys headed down the stairs and turned the corner to head into the living room where the Baron and the Porter awaited. "What do you think they want?" Tyler asked as he followed Jay and Will across the hallway.

Neither Jay nor Will answered as they entered the living room. The Baron looked up at them and smiled, but the Porter's face remained still and stoic. The Baron motioned for the boys to sit at the couch and said, "Good morning. I trust your sleep was fine."

"It was. It definitely was," Tyler replied as he plopped himself down beside Jay.

"Good. Good," the Baron said, nodding. "I called the three of you here to give you your mission."

"Our mission?" Jay repeated. "Hold on, we're not some soldiers you can order around. We have our own stuff to deal with if you already forgot."

"At ease, Mr. Burchell," the Baron told him. "This mission involves your quest for the truth."

"What is it then?" Will anxiously wanted to know.

"Have you ever heard of John Trumbull?"

"Yeah, he's that painter. The one who painted the Declaration of Independence," Tyler answered.

"Exactly. You remember that painting? The one that you stole, Will. The one Freed wanted so badly from you."

Will nodded and said, "Yeah. What about it?"

"There's a very good reason Freed was so intent on destroying it in the Drexler Bombing and so intent on retrieving it when he found out you stole it."

"And what reason would that be?" Jay wanted to know.

"You're going to have to go back to New Haven for that answer," the Baron said.

"No way!" Jay shouted. "Go back to New Haven?! That's crazy!"

"You want answers, you're going to have to risk all you've got to get them," the Baron told Jay. He looked at the three boys one at a time and said, "Upon Trumbull's death, he was interred beneath the Art Gallery at Yale. His crypt holds the answers you seek."

Will nodded and turned to Jay and Tyler. "Guess we're goin' back to school," he sighed.

"We will provide you with a car and new IDs just in case," the Baron said. "Please follow Mr. Anselmo here."

Jay, Tyler, and Will all looked up at the Porter who blankly stared back at them. He walked away from the Baron's side and headed across the room. The three boys followed him outside to the garage.

"Anselmo, huh?" Tyler said.

"Be quiet," the Porter replied. He unlocked the door to the garage and entered. He led the boys over to a car draped in a white tarp. "You'll take this and head to New Haven. You're going to need to refill the tank a bit so here's some money," the Porter grabbed an envelope from his jacket pocket and handed it to Tyler. He pulled the tarp off the car, revealing it to be a white '97 Honda Civic hatchback. Continuing, he added, "In the glove compartment, you'll find a map marking your route from here to New Haven. Your new IDs are also in there. This is going to be a long trip, so I hope you boys are ready."

"As ready as we'll ever be," Jay sighed.

The Porter nodded and handed Jay the keys. "Be careful. It all depends on you." Jay nodded and stepped into the front seat. Will opened the back seat door and hopped inside as Tyler nodded to the Porter and sat down in the passenger seat. Jay started for the garage door as the Porter reminded them, "I'll be watching."

"We'll be waiting," Tyler said, smiling and showing the Porter his gold watch. He sighed and slumped back in his chair as Jay headed out the garage. The Porter followed them outside and watched as the Civic sped up the path away from the ranch house.

Returning to the ranch house, the Porter locked the front door behind him and made his way to the living room. The Baron was still seated at his recliner, staring out the window. He sighed as the Porter walked up behind him.

"We shouldn't have sacrificed Thomas," the Porter suddenly said.

"You're still angry about that?"

"Thomas was one of our best. We could have drawn them out of Buckley Rock another way," the Porter replied.

"No, they wouldn't have resurfaced unless they knew they were being threatened," the Baron said. "Thomas was a sacrifice our cause demanded."

The Porter sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. He asked, "Are you sure we should be putting all this on their shoulders? Everything hinges on those boys finding the truth. That's a heavy burden. What if they fail?"

"I have faith, Jon," the Baron replied. "My grandson was taught to be the best. He won't fail."

"How are you so sure?"

"Just trust in him, Jon. He will not fail us."

Outside Asphodel Meadows, the white Honda Civic roared down the empty highway they had raced down before. Will's eyes snapped away from the rolling hills outside his window.

"It's not gonna be easy getting into that crypt," Jay said as he drove onwards.

"Has anything been easy on this trip so far?" Tyler asked sardonically.

"It was easy to take a crap last night," Jay jokingly stated.

Tyler burst out laughing and punched Jay's arm. In the backseat, Will shook his head and smiled a little. Suddenly, the roar of another car emanated from the side. Out of nowhere, a black Crown Vic jumped onto the highway and slammed into the rear bumper of the Honda. The car fishtailed, but Jay managed to regain control.

"What the hell was that?!" Jay shouted.

"There's a car behind us!" Will alarmed him. "Speed up. It's trying to take us down!"

Jay stepped hard on the gas pedal, shooting the Civic forward. Behind them, though, the black Crown Vic slammed into the bumper once more. As the Honda started to pull away, the Crown Vic pulled up beside it. Forcefully, the Crown Vic rammed into the side of the Honda. Jay tried to turn the wheel, but was unable to before the left side of the car dropped down into a small ditch. Jay managed to get the car back onto the road, but the Crown Vic charged at him again.

In the passenger seat, Tyler held on tightly to his seatbelt. Staring outside, he tried to get a closer look at the driver of the Crown Vic. Through the black tint, though, he could barely even make out the figure. As the Crown Vic slammed into his side of the car, though, Tyler stared into the window once more. Seated behind the wheel of the car was his own brother.

Tyler's eyes widened as his mouth opened to blurt out, "Gabriel?"


	12. Chapter 12: The Blueprint

Guest Starring

Frank Mills…………………..Chiwetel Ejiofor

Nicole Rex………………...Rose Byrne

Jack Carter………………….Garrett Hedlund

Carissa Mailer………………Alberta Watson

The Baron…………………...Donald Sutherland

Rosalind Freed……………...Mary Tyler Moore

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Chapter 12: The Blueprint**

Stunned to see his brother driving the car attacking them, Tyler didn't even bother to think when the Crown Vic smashed into his side of the car. The white Honda Civic rattled as the black car struck its side. Tyler's head bobbed forwards and backwards, slamming into the headrest of the seat. He outstretched his arms to grab onto the dashboard as Jay tried to stay on the road. Tyler looked back at the car as it drove towards them once more.

"Jay, look out!" Tyler warned him.

Quickly, Jay stepped on the gas. The Honda sped forward, avoiding the Crown Vic as it attempted to ram into them again. In his car, Gabriel gritted his teeth doggedly as he charged towards the rear of the Honda. He slammed the front bumper of the Crown Vic against the back of the Honda and refused to let up. Jay attempted to drive away from Gabriel, but he continued after them. Gaining speed, Gabriel slammed the front bumper of his car into the side of the Honda Civic. The tail of the Civic flung out to the side of the road, prompting Jay to hastily grab and turn the wheel.

"Son of a bitch!" Jay cursed. "Who is it?!"

"I don't know," Will replied. "I can't see. Windows are tinted too dark!"

Tyler stared back out the rear window as he covered his mouth with one hand. The color in his face was starting to wane as his worried expression grew. He grabbed at his hair and held onto the side of his seat as Gabriel slammed into their side once more.

Jay backed away as the car was hit and attempted to get away from the Crown Vic. However, Gabriel was about to ram into their car again, but Jay got out of the way in time. Tyler's heartbeat sounded like the thumping bass of a techno song. Beads of sweat dripped down his forehead as he watched Gabriel's car pull up beside them on Jay's side. "Jay! Jay!"

"I know, Tyler! I know!" Jay impatiently shouted back.

He tried to speed up, but Gabriel's car gained on him. The Crown Vic slammed into the Honda Civic again, causing Jay to head towards the side of the road. Turning his head, Jay looked at the Crown Vic. It was coming straight at him. Impulsively, he reached down for the gear selector and shifted to Reverse. The car started to back up as the Crown Vic completely missed it. The Crown Vic nearly rammed into the ditch on the side of the road, but Gabriel managed to regain control of his car. Before he could turn around and chase down the Civic, though, Jay shifted back up to Drive. Stepping hard on the gas, he shot the car forward and headed straight for the rear of the black Crown Vic.

Gabriel's eyes widened as he saw the white Civic coming at him from behind. He grabbed a hold of the steering wheel tightly and stomped down on the break. At once, the Civic came crashing into the rear bumper of the Crown Vic, causing its tail to lift up into the air. In the driver's seat, Gabriel closed his eyes fearfully as the front of the car dipped downwards at the ground.

His foot still on the gas pedal, Jay sped away from the Crown Vic and continued up the empty highway. Behind them, the Crown Vic fell back on all four wheels. Jay's heavy breathing started to slow down and he turned his attention back to the road before them. In the passenger seat, Tyler worriedly stared back out the rear window at the wreckage of his brother's car. Will noticed the concerned look on Tyler's face as he spun around. However, he remained silent and let out a relieved sigh.

Back down the highway, Gabriel sat quietly in the driver's seat. His fingers shook and his breathing got heavy as he remained seated. His eyes lifted up from the speedometer of his car and focused on the white blur speeding away from him. Angrily shaking his head, he slapped the steering wheel several times and bit his teeth together. Shoving the door open, he climbed out the car and looked at what was left of the Crown Vic. The rear bumper was mangled and the trunk looked like it would never close again. Both sides of the car were scratched up badly and the paint was beginning to tear off. The rearview mirror on the passenger side was dangling from a few wires and the front bumper was barely hanging onto the rest of the car. Gabriel madly kicked the side of the car and placed his palms on the top as he stared down at the dusty, black road.

-Denver FBI Field Office-

Sitting calmly inside a small holding cell at the FBI Field Office was the Baron. His silvery white hair was combed back as usual and he wore a simplistic black suit with a white button-down shirt underneath. He also had a purple tie around his neck underneath the collar of his button-down shirt. His thick, calloused hands were folded over one another on the metal table in front of him as his eyes stared straight forward at the one-way mirror facing him.

The door on the side burst open a second later and Agent Mills stomped into the cell. He closed the door behind him and walked over to the metal table. The Baron didn't even bother looking at him as he stood in front of him. In Mill's hand was a manila folder, which he tossed onto the table. Leaning back against the one-way mirror, Mills glared down at the Baron and crossed his arms before him.

"Open it," Mills instructed, pointing at the folder.

"What is it?" the Baron calmly asked without looking down at it.

"You'll see."

The Baron smiled wickedly at Mills and pulled the folder closer to him. He opened it, revealing the photographs inside. The one on top was a photograph of the driver that had attacked Jay in Buckley Rock. He looked like he'd been killed execution style – there was a single bullet hole in the middle of his forehead and his body was laid out in the middle of the road. The Baron stared down blankly at the picture. Although he'd known the man, Thomas, for quite a while, he had no emotional attachments to him. The Baron moved the photograph aside and looked at the next one. It was a photograph of Lawrence Hodge and his family tied up in their apartment. The Baron lifted his eyes up from the photographs and looked Mills in the eyes.

"Is this supposed to make me feel something, Agent?" the Baron said.

"Does it?" Mills asked.

"Not at all," the Baron replied, closing the manila folder.

"You should," Mills said as he stepped forward. "Wanna know why? Because your grandson caused this."

"My grandson? I don't have a grandson."

"Really?" Mills sarcastically questioned as he grabbed the manila folder from the desk. He opened it up and pulled out a piece of paper in the back. "Stephen Mailer – you don't remember him?"

"Never even heard the name," the Baron said blankly.

"I highly doubt that," Mills said as he slammed the piece of paper on the metal table. The Baron looked down at it to see Will's picture along with some personal information about him. "How long's it been since you had contact with your son, Jacob?"

"Jacob? I haven't seen or spoken to my son in nearly ten-fifteen years," the Baron revealed.

"Then what about his son – your grandson?"

"I didn't even know he got married."

"He didn't. He just had a kid with a woman named Carissa Mailer," Mills answered.

"Well I sure hope he's been paying child support then," the Baron replied jokingly.

Mills glared down at the Baron and walked around the table. Looming over the Baron, he asked, "You think this is a joke, Mr. Roth?"

The Baron looked up Mills confidently and wondered, "Do you think you scare me, Agent?"

"Do I?"

"Not at all."

Mills cockily smiled at the Baron then suddenly grabbed him by the collar of his suit. He lifted the Baron up to his feet and slammed his back against the wall behind him. Pinning him to the wall, Mills shoved his face into the Baron's and said, "You're going to tell me where your grandson is! We know you hid him!"

"How could you possibly know that?" the Baron asked, smirking.

Mills gritted his teeth and let go of the Baron. "Can I ask you something, Mr. Roth?"

"Surely."

"Why was it so hard to locate you? Hmm?"

"Maybe you and your men are just incompetent," the Baron taunted.

Mills snapped his head towards the Baron and glared at him. Pointing a stiff finger at him, he asked, "You know what I think? I think you were hiding with your boys. Maybe that's why it took us a while to find you, huh?"

Suddenly, the door opened and Chambers stepped inside. He and Mills exchanged glances. The Baron turned to him and watched as Mills walked over to him. Chambers leaned in towards Mills and whispered something in his ear. Agent Mills put his hands on his waist as he sighed. Chambers held the door open for him and he exited the room.

"Help is so hard to find these days, isn't it, Agent Chambers?" the Baron asked tauntingly.

"Oh, no, don't worry. He's good. Just a bit hot-headed, that's all," Chambers replied. Grabbing a chair from the corner of the room, Chambers slid it over to the metal table and sat down across from the Baron. "You said you haven't spoken to your son, Jacob, in years and you didn't even know you had a grandson, right?"

"That's correct."

"Well, apparently, your other son, David, did know Jacob had a kid. We have reports saying he visited Soleri, Arizona quite a few times," Chambers said. "What about David? Have you spoken to him recently?"

"I don't believe I have to tell you anything more," the Baron stated as he stood up from his seat. Fixing his tie, he walked across the room to the door.

Chambers rose and followed after the Baron. "Is there something you're trying to hide, Mr. Roth?" he asked as the Baron grabbed a hold of the doorknob.

The Baron stopped and turned to face Chambers. Their eyes met as the Baron faced him with a cold, steely look much different from the smug mask he wore before. Pulling his eyes away from Chambers, the Baron shook his head and replied, "No, I have nothing to hide from you, Agent Chambers."

Chambers nodded and scoffed at the Baron. The Baron opened the door, but Chambers grabbed the edge of it to keep him from opening it more. Staring the Baron in the eyes, he said, "If you do have something to tell me, Mr. Roth, you know my number, you know how to contact me."

"Of course, Agent Chambers," the Baron said. As he pulled the door fully open, he flashed Chambers an arrogant smile and disappeared down the hallway.

-Somewhere in Kansas-

The white Honda Civic was parked outside a small, seedy motel in a tiny town somewhere in Kansas. The street in front of the motel was barely alive. A car passed by every now and then and a few people were strewn about, but other than that, nothing. Inside Room 30, Jay sat at the foot of the bed slipping a white sock over his right foot. In the bathroom across the room, Tyler stood over the sink with his shirt off. A pair of scissors sat on the sink beside his hand. Locks of bleached blonde hair were scattered around the sink around the scissors. Running his fingers through his dirty blonde hair, Tyler felt how short he'd maniacally cut it.

As Tyler leaned over the sink, his eyes focused on his slightly blurred reflection in the yellow-stained mirror. His hazel-colored eyes stared back at him as he observed himself. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and rubbed his face with his right hand. The same scene of his brother ramming his car into theirs kept replaying in his head. He couldn't keep it out of his mind. Every other minute, it would creep back into his head and slap him across the face. Tyler vehemently shook his head in an attempt to get rid of the image, but he couldn't lose it. Angrily gritting his teeth, he slammed his balled fist on the white sink.

"You alright, Ty?" Jay questioned as he leaned into the bathroom.

Tyler shook his head and turned to Jay. "No. No, I'm fine. Don't worry about it."

"You sure? You've looked pretty shaken up since that car attacked us," Jay told him. He let go of the doorframe and started to walk into the bathroom.

"No! I said I'm fine, Jay!" Tyler shouted back, prompting Jay to take a few steps back.

Jay raised his two hands up in surrender and walked backwards. "Hey, I'm just tryin' to help."

Shaking his head, Tyler muttered, "Please, Jay, just leave me alone."

Jay nodded in response and walked back over to the bed. He plopped himself down on the bed as Tyler rubbed his tired eyes back in the bathroom.

-Somewhere in Colorado-

Sweat permeated Gabriel's shirt all the way from his neck down to his lower back. The black jacket he wore before was now slung around his right arm as he wandered up to the front door of a diner on the side of the road. The beaming hot sun had burned his pale, creamy skin the whole time he was on the move from his wrecked car. Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Gabriel took a seat at the nearest booth.

An old woman in a red and white waitress' outfit strode up to him with a smile and set a menu in front of him. "Just whistle when you're ready," she said, still smiling widely.

Gabriel nodded and flipped open the menu. Leaning his head against the open palm of his hand, Gabriel gave off a loud, exhausted sigh. As he started to look through the menu, he reached into his pocket for a cellphone. Flipping it open, he dialed a number and pressed the green call button.

"Hello?" a man answered.

"Chambers, it's Fog," Gabriel murmured.

"Well? What's the status?" Chambers asked.

Gabriel shook his head as if Chambers could see him and said, "They got away."

"I gave you their location, kept my men off their asses, and you were still unable to eliminate them?!" Chambers retorted. "What happened?"

"I pursued them in my car, but they totaled it," Gabriel informed Chambers. "I need to know where they are."

"I have no leads. I don't know where they are anymore. Roth's ranch house was the only location I expected them to be and you obviously messed that up!"

Sighing angrily, Gabriel slammed his palm on the table and muttered, "Fine. Just call me back when you get something alright?"

Without saying another word, Chambers hung up. Closing his flip phone, Gabriel set it down on the table and slouched back in his seat. Inhaling and exhaling loudly, he stared morosely out the window at the barren roadside around him.

-New York FBI Field Office – Two Days Later-

Agent Rex looked away from the plasma screen TV hanging from one of the pillars in the bullpen and turned her attention to her computer. She looked down at the two names she'd typed into the search boxes on the screen and contemplated her actions. In one of the white boxes was Chambers' own name while in the one underneath was the name, Jack Freed. Rex lightly tapped her lower lip with the end of her black pen as she stared at the bright computer monitor.

"Follow the trail; it'll lead you to the truth," Rex could heard Marlow urging her.

Looking around the room once, Rex reached out with her index finger and pressed the 'Enter' key on her keyboard. The computer screen started to transform as a new screen loaded up. Only two words appeared on the screen when it was finished loading: FBI and Palestine. Letting out a guilty sigh, Rex clicked on the latter link.

Several minutes later, the blue door at the other end of the room burst open and Chambers walked in. Everyone in the room turned their attention to their boss, who strode to the center of the bullpen. Agent Mills clicked out of the page she was on and stood up from her desk. Mills walked in from behind with a cup of coffee in his hand. He leaned up against the wall behind Rex's desk as he stood to listen to Chambers.

"Alright. What do we got?!" Chambers demanded to know.

"Nothing, sir," an agent seated at a computer before him said, shaking his head.

"We haven't had any leads since Denver," a fellow agent added.

"What about the guy from the apartment – Hodge?"

"Lead nowhere."

"And Jamison Roth?" Chambers asked. The agent shook his head again. The fuming look on Chambers' face only served to enhance the madness behind his eyes. Glowering down at his men, he yelled, "C'mon, people! We need to find something – anything – that can lead us to these guys! We all know they are dangerous and we've seen what they are capable of! Do not let what happened three months ago happen again! Mills, I want Traveler's mother brought up here and questioned! Rex, we brought back what we could salvage from the boys' apartments. Tech guys and forensics are working on them as we speak. I want you to update me with anything if they come up with something, alright?"

And with that, Chambers turned and headed off into his office, shaking his head the whole while in disappointment. At her desk, Rex turned to Mills, who took a sip of his coffee and shrugged at her. Rex turned back to her computer and sat down as Mills walked away from her desk. With her black pen, she began tapping her lower lip again as she stared at her blank computer.

-Hanover, Virginia-

The Honda Civic was parked outside out of a small strip mall somewhere in Hanover. Several other cars were parked alongside it in front of several stores. Right in front of the Civic was an internet café, which was bordered by a bookstore on one side and a clothing store on the other. Inside the internet café were Will, Jay, and Tyler. This café was quite crowded with dozens of teenagers strewn about. It was the weekend so it was only natural that there were a couple kids there. Will sat in front of a computer in the far back of the café with Jay and Tyler leaning over his shoulders. Three computers over sat a sixteen-year-old boy with glasses with his friend playing some kind of game on the internet.

Tyler continuously looked around as Will and Jay's eyes remained fixated on the computer monitor. Tyler felt a bit antsy considering they were surrounded on all sides by people who could have easily recognized them. Luckily, the boys and girls in the café appeared oblivious to their presence.

"Find anything yet?" Tyler asked as he stared at the front door open.

"Trumbull's grave is beneath the Art Gallery at Yale. Its location was signified by his painting, the Declaration of Independence, but since the painting was moved to the Drexler, I don't know how to identify where it is anymore," Will replied.

"Does it say what they replaced the painting with?" Jay asked. Will shook his head. "Well did you find anything that says how we can enter the crypt?"

"No," Will answered. Shaking his head disappointedly, he added, "We're gonna need schematics to the building in order to find the crypt opening."

"How are we going to get blueprints to the Art Gallery? I don't think they just hand that stuff out," Jay said sarcastically.

"The architects that design buildings always keep blueprints of their buildings. We're gonna have to get to the headquarters of Polshek Partnership Architects – they're the ones who renovated the Art Gallery."

"You're planning on stealing the blueprints?" Tyler gasped.

"No way, man, That's suicide," Jay blurted.

Will turned to his friends with a stern look. "Then what do you wanna do huh? Spend our time at the Art Gallery looking for the entrance? We don't that much time to waddle around that place, Jay! We need those blueprints!"

Jay sighed and ran his fingers through his black hair. "Where's this place anyways?"

A conniving smile appeared on Will's face and he sat back in his chair. "Here."

-U.S. Medical Center for Federal Criminals-

Gabriel entered the large, white facility outside of New York City and smiled at the woman at the counter in the waiting room. There weren't very many people inside the criminal hospital save for the nurses and a few doctors and the many patients remanded there. Using the pen attached to the clipboard on the counter, Gabriel jotted down his name, the date and time, and his father's name. Smiling at the nurse, he set the pen down and headed across the floor to the elevator.

Arriving on the fourth floor, Gabriel made his way to Carlton Fog's room. He slowly opened the door and quietly stepped inside. Carlton appeared to be sleeping; food was currently being streamed into his blood system through an IV hooked up to a pouch with liquid food inside. It hurt Gabriel to see his father so badly wounded; he was barely hanging on. Gabriel strolled over to his father's bedside and clasped his hand around Carlton's.

Surprised at the touch of a warm hand, Carlton's eyes opened and he turned his head to face his son. Gabriel was wearing a lime green and white striped button-down shirt, blue denim jeans, and a black jacket. He smiled mournfully at Carlton as Carlton stared up at him with weak eyes.

"How are you, Dad?" Gabriel asked in a soft tone.

"I'm… alright," Carlton struggled to say. Even through Gabriel's calm smile, Carlton could tell he was torn apart inside. Caressing his son's hand, he asked, "Has it been taken care of?"

Gabriel's grasp on his father's hand loosened and he tried to look away. Sighing to himself, he looked back down at Carlton and shook his head. "No, Dad, not yet."

Carlton attempted to nod his head and muttered, "I-I was watching the news the other day. Y-Your brother's gone deep, far too deep. He must be dealt with."

"I know, Dad. I know."

"Do you know where he is?" Carlton asked.

"No. Chambers doesn't know either," Gabriel answered. "He and his friends got away a couple days ago. It was my fault."

Carlton grasped his son's hand tighter and mumbled, "You must set everything straight again. W-We can't let the family fall into ruin."

Gabriel held his father's hand and bit his lower lip. Nodding vigorously, he forced tears back into his eyes and tried to hug his beloved father.

-Staten Island, NY-

Sounds of a TV emanated from Allison's bedroom as she sat on her queen-size bed with her black laptop sitting on her crossed legs. The peach-colored curtains of her window were drawn open, allowing the bright sun to sink into the room. On the TV, the newscaster was reporting even more about the search for the Drexler Bombing suspects. This time, though, the mug shot on the screen belonged to Jan Marlow. Allison was too preoccupied with her laptop to watch the news, though.

Her fingers ran across the keyboard attached to the laptop while her eyes read what she wrote. Written across the top of the screen like a miniature banner was the title, '_Who is Will Traveler?'_. Piled around Allison's bed were various pieces of paper consisting of her research into the Drexler Bombing. The documents included news articles she'd printed out before, mug shots of the bombing suspects, and the file folder she'd stolen from the home in Deer Harbor. Allison grabbed a piece of paper from the stacks and skimmed over it while she typed something into the computer.

Suddenly, her cellphone began ringing. "Hello?" she said, lifting the phone up to her ear.

"Hey, Al, did you call?" a young man asked.

"Hey, Jack, yeah I called," Allison replied. Taking a deep breath, she continued, "You know how I'm doing that report on the Drexler for school?"

"Yup. What about it?"

"You think you could do me a favor?" Allison asked sweetly.

"Depends," Jack replied warily. "What kind of favor?"

"I need you to use your sources to find out some info on a guy."

"Who's the guy?" Jack asked.

"That's just it – I don't know a thing about him."

"Then what do you need info on him for?" Jack wanted to know. He was starting to get confused and worried about this favor.

"I got some info from a friend of mine," Allison lied. "There's a name that pops up all over the place. I need to know who he is. It's for a paper I'm writing."

"So it won't get me killed or anything, right?"

Allison thought for a second, then replied, "Nope, you're safe."

Sighing, Jack muttered, "Whatever. Give me the name."

"Joseph Langdon."

-Hanover, VA-

The headquarters of the architecture firm, Polshek Partnership, was a simplistic yet elegant structure. The building was probably around twenty stories tall and towered over many of the surrounding buildings. It was painted a pristine white and sat atop a base with concrete steps leading up to the four entrances. Silver-lined automatic doors framed the entrances, each of which was labeled with precise, white blocks spelling out Polshek Partnership Architectural Firm. Shaped like a rectangle with a slanted roof, the Polshek building was illuminated by thousands of fluorescent white lights beaming from each floor.

Across the street, standing in front of a hotdog vendor, were Will, Jay, and Tyler. Tyler paid the hotdog vendor five bucks and walked over to where Will and Jay stood. He took a bite of his hotdog as he stared up at the towering structure before them.

"So, lemme get this straight, we're supposed to sneak in there and steal some blueprint?" Tyler asked.

"Yup," Will said, chewing on a piece of hotdog.

"Great. Awesome," Tyler sarcastically muttered.

"How are we going to do this?" Jay asked as he squeezed some ketchup onto his hotdog. He bit into it as he waited for Will's answer.

"That's what we're here for," Will said. "I've never been in there before so I have no idea how we're gonna get inside or how we're gonna get the blueprint."

"So we're goin' in blind?"

"No. We're scouting. We observe the actions of the guards and employees and act on that."

"But what about the inside?" Tyler asked. "I dunno 'bout you, but I don't have x-ray vision, Will."

"Very funny, Tyler," Will scoffed. Pointing his chin towards the building, he continued, "One of us is gonna have to go in there, walk around the place a bit."

"There're guards there. I don't think they're just gonna let us walk around without questioning us, Will," Jay said.

"That's why we need to provide a distraction."

Tyler looked around as he bit off another piece of his hotdog. He looked over down the sidewalk and saw two teenage boys standing in front of a record store smoking. A smile appeared on his face and he turned to Will and Jay. "I got it."

"Got what?" Jay asked.

"Our distraction."

-New York FBI Field Office-

Inside the Field Office, Mills stood inside an interrogation room with Carissa Mailer seated at the metal table in between them. Carissa was wearing a brown sweater and blue jeans and sat quietly tapping her painted fingernails on the table. Mills crossed his arms over his chest as he stared down at Will's mother.

"When was the last time you saw your son, Ms. Mailer?" Mills asked in a quiet tone.

"Jesus, about seven years ago," Carissa replied. She scratched the bridge of her nose and added, "It was right after he got back from serving in the Middle East. He came to visit and told me he got a good job somewhere."

"Did he say where he was working?"

"No."

"You know who he is, right – your son?"

Carissa looked up at Mills with a fiery glare and shouted, "My son is not a terrorist!"

An arrogant smirk crossed Mills' face as he shrugged at Carissa and asked, "Then what do you call a guy that blows up a museum? Huh?"

"He didn't blow up that museum."

"How do you know that, Ms. Mailer? You haven't had any contact with him have you?"

"No, I haven't," Carissa stated, staring Mills down.

"You know, I talked to your son's grandfather – Roth – the other day. He was pretty adamant about not having anything to do with you and your boy."

"That's because he never had anything to do with us," Carissa revealed, glaring into Mills' eyes. "Aside from Stephen's dad, David was the only person from his side of the family to ever contact us."

"Now that's what confuses me. You have a kid with one brother, but it's the other brother who takes care of the kid. He seemed pretty friendly with you and your son. Now, why is that?" Mills asked, leaning in towards Carissa.

Carissa shrugged and replied, "David was a good person. When Jacob ran out on us, David showed up a few months later. He wanted to help; to make up for his brother's irresponsibility he said. I refused to accept it, but he was determined, he was determined to help us. I never understood why."

"Were he and Stephen close?"

"Yes. Yes. He and Stephen – they were always together. I think that's why he decided to help us out so much; because of Stephen. I think he saw a bit of his brother in Stephen and didn't want him to turn out like Jacob."

"Was Jacob a bad person? A bad influence?"

"Jacob wasn't a bad person; just a little misguided and misunderstood. He loved helping others, he was a friendly person. Loving, caring – a fixer-upper."

"That doesn't sound like a guy who skips out on their family," Mills commented.

"He was scared; he didn't know what to do," Carissa said. "He just ran off and disappeared."

"Apparently for good seeing as how no one else has had any contact with him for over twenty years," Mills replied. Clearing his throat, Mills said, "Sorry for getting sidetracked. We're here to talk about the present, not the past, right?"

Carissa leaned forward and asked, "What is it you want, Agent Mills?"

"I want justice," Mills replied. "I want your son and his friends."

"I don't know his friends," Carissa started, "but I know my son. He's not the kind of person who'd do something like this."

"Evidence says otherwise," Mills coldly replied. "Now, is there anywhere you could think of that Stephen might run to."

Carissa looked down at her folded hands on the table and thought of Will. The last time she'd seen him, he was still fairly young. He was only twenty-years-old. A slight smile came over her face as she remembered her son. Taking a deep breath, she turned away from her hands and glanced up at Agent Mills. "My son's a protector, a savior. He's not running."

-Hanover, VA-

Walking across the street to the Polshek Partnership building, Will popped the collar of his dark gray jacket to conceal his face. He was wearing a thin, dark gray jacket and blue jeans over a white sweatshirt. Hopping onto the sidewalk, he headed up the front steps of the building and walked through the entrance as the mechanical doors slid open. A guard at the front door nodded to him as he walked by. Will faked a smile as he headed over to the guard at the metal detector. He turned his head back to look through the front entrance. Across the street, Jay and Tyler were watching him. Nodding to himself, Will walked towards the front detector and made his way through.

Outside, Jay and Tyler watched as Will vanished as he walked towards the metal detector. Jay looked over at Tyler who looked down at his gold wristwatch. He turned to Jay and said, "Ten seconds?"

"Give him fifteen," Jay replied.

Tyler nodded and looked at the second hand of his watch. Fifteen seconds later, he walked over to the two kids from the record store. They were still in front of the store, seated on the curb. Tyler tapped one of them on the shoulder, prompting both to look up.

"Alright, you guys know what to do," Tyler said.

The two boys turned to one another; one of them looked up at Tyler and demanded, "Money first."

"Whatever," Tyler muttered as he reached into his wallet. Looking across the street, he pulled out two twenty dollar bills and handed one to each boy. "Alright, go."

The two teenagers smiled at one another and headed across the street. As they crossed, they split up with one boy going towards the front of the Polshek Partnership building and another one going to the corner. The boy in front of the building stopped to pretend to tie his shoes while his friend headed up the street towards him. Just as he stood up, his friend charged at him and tackled him to the ground. He started to throw punches as one of the guards of the Polshek Partnership building ran down the stairs to stop them.

Standing across the street, Jay turned to Tyler and smiled. "Good idea."

Inside the building, the guard at the entrance turned to one of the other guards inside and waved for him to come help. He ran out the front doors as his partner started for the doors. As he ran towards the entrance, Will bumped into him. Will fell to the ground and slid across the floor as the guard turned and motioned that he was sorry. Will nodded back at him and faked a smile as he helped himself back up to his feet.

Wiping his hands against one another, Will looked at the ring of keys in his hand. Smirking proudly at himself, he stuffed them inside his jacket pocket and walked over to a map of the building locked inside a glass compartment. In the middle of the lobby was a glass case concealing a bright, colorful map of the Polshek Partnership building. Will leaned over the case as he searched for where the blueprint for the Yale University Art Gallery could be.

Moving his index finger around the map, Will attempted to locate the archives. Finally, he stopped and jabbed his finger at a purple-colored region of the map. In the middle of the colored region was the word 'Archives' written in bold, white, block letters. Memorizing the part of the map, Will nodded to himself and scanned the area. Hopefully, no one had seen him. Hiding behind his popped collar, he made his way to another exit in the lobby. Smiling up at the guard, he passed through the metal detector and headed outside to the street.

The three guards that had run outside had managed to finally separate the two teenage boys Tyler had paid off. Cuffing them with plastic handcuffs, the guards sat the boys down on the bottom steps. One of the men pulled out a radio as Will passed by them. He took a moment to glance back at the two teenage boys then jogged across the street to where Jay and Tyler waited.

"Well?" Jay asked as Will reached them.

"I got the keys and I know where the blueprint is," Will answered.

"What now?"

"We wait."

-U.S. Medical Center for Federal Criminals-

The parking lot of the Medical Center was fairly large, but there were only a couple vehicles parked there. Gabriel passed by a large red truck on his way to his car, a silver Lexus LS. As he rushed over to his car, he reached into his pocket for his cellphone. Fumbling to open it, he dialed a number and put the phone up to the side of his head. Reaching his car, Gabriel pulled out the car keys and unlocked the door.

"Hello?!" he shouted into the phone.

"What is it?" Chambers asked.

"What's going on? Where are they?!" Gabriel wanted to know.

"I told you, I would call you when I found out!" Chambers retorted.

"You need to do your job and find them!" Gabriel angrily replied.

"You're telling me to do my job?" Chambers asked, obviously offended. "If you had done your job like I told you, I'd already have them in body bags."

"I told you, I messed up." Gabriel slammed the door of his car closed and strapped his seatbelt on.

"Look, I will call you when I have something. Till then, do not call this number. Understood?!"

"I got it," Gabriel replied in a calmer voice. He hung up the phone and stuck it back in his pocket. The cool, collected composure he wore for the past week was beginning to wear. His face appeared exhausted and broken. His hair was a mess and his stubble had grown. Gabriel sighed as he ran his fingers through his tuft of hair.

-New York FBI Field Office-

Shaking his head in annoyance, Chambers started to shove his second phone into his drawer when it rang again. Cursing under his breath, he pulled it out and answered it angrily.

"What is it now?!" he shouted.

"I don't think you want to take that tone with me, Chambers," a female voice asked.

Chambers' eyes widened and he gulped as if he'd heard something terrible. Looking around, he kicked the door to his office closed and said, "I'm sorry, ma'am. I thought it was someone else. What can I do for you?"

"I have something to tell you that I'm sure you're going to dread hearing," the woman replied.

"What is it?" Chambers impatiently asked.

"Did you know your daughter took a trip to Deer Harbor a few days ago?"

"My daughter? Allison? No, she hasn't said anything about a trip – "

"Well, I'm afraid it's true. One of our men has confirmed it."

Confused, Chambers leaned back in his chair and gulped again. "What's this about?"

"Your daughter has taken something from us."

A shocked expression crossed Chambers' face. Furrowing his brow, he murmured, "What? What do you mean?"

"Allison broke into our safe house and stole an item from our files. She knows the truth about Traveler," the woman said. There was absolutely no emotion in her voice.

Feeling his heart beating louder and louder with each second, Chambers grabbed at the back of his head and stamped his fist on the table. "What's going to happen to her?"

"I'm going to leave that decision up to you," the woman answered. "You can take care of her yourself or you can bring her to us and we'll handle the situation."

His face turning a ghostly white, Chambers gritted his teeth in anger and stuttered, "I-I'll handle it. I'll handle it!"

"Good. I'm confident you'll stand by your word."

Chambers dropped the cellphone from his hand as he heard the other line hang up. Rubbing his cold, ghastly face with his right and left hands, Chambers let out a terrified sigh. His eyes began to wander around the room as he tried to think of what to do. As his eyes shifted around the small office of his, they started widening and dilating.

"I'm sorry," he heard a familiar voice weep in his mind. "I'm so sorry!"

-Manhattan, NY-

The New York streets were bustling with life. Hundreds of pedestrians strolled about the sidewalks and across the streets at every second. Seated outside a small, nouveau riche café was Allison. She wore a black t-shirt, blue jeans, and a green sweater. On the black table in front of her lay her backpack. She sipped on a latte as she sat waiting for Jack to arrive. Though it only consisted of sitting and waiting, it was a tough job considering the sea of people she had to look over, through, and around just to find him.

From across the street, she saw a young man with dark brown hair crossing the street. The young man's hair was gelled up in a faux hawk; there was so much gel Allison could practically see some excess sticking out. He wore a white and brown striped dress shirt under a black North Face jacket and carried a black backpack around his left shoulder. With a smile on his face, he walked up to Allison's table and greeted her.

"Mind if I sit down?" he asked.

"Go ahead," Allison replied, smiling flirtatiously. Jack took the seat across from Allison and set his backpack on the table before him. "So what'd you find?"

Jack unzipped his backpack and stuck his hand inside, but didn't pull anything out. With his hand still inside the backpack, he leaned across the table and stared at Allison. "Are you sure you wanna know what I found out?"

"Yes, Jack. Just tell me!" Allison assuredly told him.

Jack pursed his lips and shrugged. "Whatever," he sighed. Pulling out a few pieces of paper, he put them on top of Allison's backpack and said, "This Joseph guy – he was some consultant for a crisis management firm called Fallbrook and Dunn. He died three months ago."

"How?" Allison asked as she flipped through the documents handed to her.

"Gunshot wounds to the chest," Jack answered. Gulping, he continued, "This guy was involved in the Drexler Bombing, Allison. He was connected to people involved in the bombing and when an FBI agent – a Jan Marlow – tried to contact him, they got into a firefight."

"What about Will Traveler? In the documents I found, they were pretty well connected to each other."

Jack shook his head with a confused look on his face. "My sources found nothing on that. Traveler doesn't even exist, they say."

"No, he exists. I know he does."

"Well, not officially he doesn't," Jack replied. Grabbing Allison's hand, he added, "This stuff you got me into, Ally – it seems pretty deep, pretty dangerous."

"Don't worry, Jack. No one's going to find out," Allison guaranteed him.

Jack began to pull away from Allison and looked away. Staring across the street, he muttered, "There's something else I found."

"What?"

"You're not gonna like it," Jack warned her.

"I don't like a lot of stuff I dig up, Jack. Just tell me," Allison ordered him.

Jack took a deep breath and sighed loudly. Facing Allison, he said, "This Joseph – your father's connected to him, Ally."

A surprised and bewildered look appeared on Allison's face. Her mouth began to gape open and her eyes widened. "What? What are you talking about?" Allison asked.

"Your father and Joseph were in the same unit in the military," Jack revealed. "Joseph was your dad's subordinate."

"So what? My dad had a lot of subordinates," Allison replied.

Jack's eyes shifted around him then he turned and asked, "How many of them are still alive?!"

Taken aback, Allison leaned back in her seat and questioned, "What are you trying to say, Jack?"

"Listen, your father led a First Recon unit in the Middle-East for a few years. They did a lot of illegal stuff down there, Allison. Your dad and Joseph were transferred out of the unit and then two years later, things went to the shitter. I don't know the specifics, but it got really bad."

"You just said my dad was transferred out of that unit."

"Yeah, but do you really think it's a coincidence that he and this Jacob guy were both transferred out a unit just before things went down the gutter?" Jack asked, his eyes wide.

Visibly offended, Allison stood up from her seat and questioned, "Are you trying to accuse my dad of something?!"

"That's not what I meant," Jack sighed. Scratching the bag of his head, he stood up and grabbed at Allison's hand. Allison jerked her arm back as Jack reached for it. "Ally – "

"No. No. Whatever you found, just forget about it. Alright, Jack? Just forget it!"

"Ally!"

Blocking out Jack, Allison zipped up her backpack and hurried across the street. The crosswalk light turned green right as she arrived. Without turning back to Jack, Allison scrambled across the street and up a hill, disappearing into the mass of men and women around the street.

-Hanover, VA-

Will stared out the large window of the hotel room he and the boys had rented for the night. It sat right across the street from the Polshek Partnership building. There was a perfect view of the building from where Will stood. His reflection stared back at him as he eyed the entrance of the architecture firm.

From behind, the door opened as Jay walked in with three cans of soda. He tossed one to Tyler, who sat on the edge of the only bed in the room, and another to Will, who turned around to see him. Will caught the can and popped the top open. Taking a swig of it, Will sat down on the chair beside the small, circular table in the corner.

"So when's this going down?" Jay asked as he locked the door behind him.

"Around nine or ten. We're gonna have to wait a while for all the employees to leave," Will answered.

"What about guards and janitors?" Tyler asked. "They usually stay a while longer than the regular employees. Some of the guards might even be there all night."

Will nodded in agreement and said, "We're gonna have to risk getting passed the guards. It won't be easy, but it's doable."

"How are you so sure?" Tyler questioned.

"Let's just say I've done something like this before," Will replied. Sipping from the can again, he continued, "Besides, we have no other choice. We don't know the janitors' or the guards' timetables. We have to risk it!"

"I don't like it," Jay retorted. "We should just wait till everyone in there is gone. We have the keys to the entire building. We can go in any time we want!"

"What? You don't think the guard I stole these off of isn't gonna realize they're gone? I bet you he's already told his boss he lost them! It's only a matter of time before they change the locks," Will told him. Raising a finger, he added, "And, what makes you so sure we can go in there once everyone's gone, huh? For all we know, they have a high-tech security system we can get our asses caught in within seconds the moment we step foot in that place. You wanna have to deal with that? 'Cause I don't."

"Fine. Fine," Jay surrendered, waving his hands in front of him. "We'll go with your plan."

"Thank you," Will replied, sipping his drink.

-New York FBI Field Office-

Rex sat at her desk scribbling something down on a piece of paper. Suddenly, the black telephone by the edge of her desk started ringing. Picking it up, she put it to her ear and said, "Agent Rex here."

"Hey, this is Franklin from Forensics," a young voice answered. "We found something. I think you're gonna wanna see this."

"I'll be right there." Agent Rex immediately hung up the phone and jolted up from her seat. Within minutes, she was in the floor below.

The room she entered was small and cramped with many computer monitors stationed around one wall. There was a table with two computers sitting in front of it and in front of that was a square table with a luminescent light hanging over it. At the other end of the room were racks of different sealed vials and jars. Agent Rex walked into the room and greeted Franklin, a Korean forensics agent, with a handshake.

"So what do we got here?" she eagerly wanted to know.

"We found a substance on a couple of the items from the condo," Franklin started.

"And?" Rex impatiently urged.

"And we found aluminum, naphthalene, and palmitate – same mixture found at the Drexler Bombing," Franklin replied sternly. The leisurely appearance he wore suddenly changed into a grave, alarming one.

Rex's eyes widened and her brow furrowed as she stared at Franklin's stoic mug. "Napalm? You're telling me they had napalm?"

Franklin nodded and began taking off his latex gloves. "It's possible they're still in possession of it." With his gloves off, Franklin grabbed the edges of the table and leaned over to look into Rex's eyes. "There's a possibility these guys have a bomb in their hands."

Rex hung her head back and put a hand to her forehead, which was beginning to steam. Shaking her head vehemently, she placed her hands around her waist. Turning to Franklin, she nodded and muttered, "Thanks. I'll let Chambers know right away."

-----

In the upper floor of the Field Office, Chambers sat at his desk with Mills in the doorframe. Mills had a disappointed look on his face as he talked to Chambers.

"She wouldn't budge," Mills said, shaking his head. "She seems to think her son's some hero or something."

Chambers scoffed at the thought and absurdly chuckled while shaking his head. "There's nothing she said that could tip us off?"

"Nothing," Mills replied dejectedly.

Frustrated and dissatisfied, Chambers slammed his fist on his table and pushed off a pile of papers off the edge of it. Sighing angrily, he rubbed his temple with his fingers and shook his head.

"Sir, there's something else I should tell you," Mills said.

Chambers turned around to Mills and said, "Well?"

"When I was talking to Mailer, she made it sound like Traveler and his uncle were really close. She said they were always together. You think that means something?"

"What? You think Traveler and his friends ran to David Roth?"

Mills shrugged and said, "Yeah. Yeah, I do."

"We couldn't even find him. What makes you think Traveler would be able to find him so easily?"

"I don't know," Mills replied. "But if I were in Traveler's shoes, the uncle that helped me throughout my childhood would be the first place I'd go to."

Chambers looked away from Mills and licked his lower lip. Contemplating to himself, he turned to Mills and dismissed the idea. "No. David Roth is a dead-end. We're not gonna find him."

"But sir!"

"Enough, Mills! I am your superior, you follow my orders!" Chambers retorted. "Searching for David Roth would just be a waste of time and resources." Mills sighed unhappily and turned around to leave, but Chambers stopped him. "Get Rex in here. I wanna know what she's found."

"I'm right here, sir," Rex said, panting. She pushed her way into Chambers' office and added, "Forensics found a substance on the articles you brought back from Colorado."

Chambers leered at Rex and asked, "What is it?"

"Napalm. Our guys could have a bomb."

-Staten Island, NY-

Allison sat on the hardwood floor of the basement in her father's home. The basement was quite dark and dusty; it appeared as if no one had stepped foot in there for years. A large number of boxes were lined up along the walls and stacked one on top of another. Allison sat on the floor with her legs outstretched and several cardboard boxes surrounding her.

The box in front of her was labeled 'Military Stuff' in her father's handwriting. The tape sealing the box was ripped off, along with some of the cardboard. Several of the items inside, such as a box of medals and letters, were set on the floor beside Allison. Ignoring those items, she dug into the box and searched for more things. Reaching down into the bottom of the box, she pulled out an old manila folder with a clip on the top.

Brushing the dust off the folder, she ripped the clip off and opened it. Inside were several papers from Chambers' time in the military. Allison skimmed over some of the writing, but couldn't make out what it was talking about. A few parts of the documents were blacked out in ink. Shaking her head angrily, Allison closed the folder, put the clip back on it, and tossed it back into the box.

Pushing aside a small, brown box, Allison found a medium-sized, maroon-colored photo album. Pulling it out of the box, she set it on the ground between her legs and opened it. The gray dust stuck her slender fingers, but she ignored it as she flipped through the laminated pages of the album. Many of the men in the photographs were people Allison never had the chance to meet or at least didn't remember meeting them. There were words and phrases scribbled at the bottom and back of some of the photos, but none of them meant anything special. Flipping to the back of the photo album, Allison's eyes were caught by a group photo of her father's unit.

In the center of the old photograph was Fred Chambers and around him were several other men. To his left was a man with light brown hair in a military buzz cut. He wore a bright smile on his face as he stared at the camera. To the right Chambers was a shorter, well-built man with dark brown hair and a stone-cold expression on his face. Allison slipped her hand through the lamination and pulled out the photograph. Bringing it up closer to her face, she read the names at the bottom of the picture. As she got closer and closer to the names of the men beside her father, her eyes widened in bewilderment.

-Fairfax County, VA-

The digital clock on the Civic's dashboard changed to nine-fifteen as another breath exited Will's lips. The window he faced became clouded with moisture. His eyes were fixed outside at the Polshek Partnership building. Beside him, in the passenger seat, Jay laid on his side with his eyes closed. In the backseat, Tyler's eyes were also closed as his body heaved up and down. Will turned to look at them for a moment then turned back to the building. He didn't mind they had fallen asleep. After being on the run for so long, he stopped blaming them for losing consciousness months ago. Staring out the window, he saw four guards left.

There were about seven different guards that he'd seen. They had gathered outside the building just a few minutes ago for a snack and to trade anecdotes. The building was illuminated a bright white in comparison to the pitch black night sky above. Will's eyes climbed the blinding pillar of light as his mind traveled back to his days in the military.

-Kandahar, Afghanistan – Nine Years Ago-

The drowning sound of heavy breathing and racing hearts filled Will's ears as he lay on the ground with his back against the concrete wall. Outfitted in camouflage gear, Will held an M4 Carbine up to his chest with both hands. The weapon heaved up and down quickly as he breathed like a tired horse. There was another man in matching camo gear lying on the ground beside him. He appeared to be losing consciousness as his eyes fluttered open and close every now and then. Will looked down at him and grabbed at his chest. Labeled across the left side of his chest was the name, Davis.

"C'mon, Davis, you better stay with me!" Will shouted at him. He looked down at Davis' abdomen; there was a bleeding wound at his side. "Davis!"

"I'm here," Davis mumbled. His voice was barely audible through the sound of bullets flying into the wrecked building they hid in. "I'm here."

"We have to leave him, Mailer! If we don't, we'll die too!" another soldier across from Will suggested. The label on his helmet read Cunningham. He jumped as bullets hailed down near his head.

"No! I'm not leaving him!" Will retorted as he fell to cover Davis.

"What do you plan on doing then, huh?" Cunningham demanded, getting back up. "You gonna just stay here and hope they run out of ammo?!"

"Stop!" Davis blurted out. He grabbed at Will's collar and murmured, "Just go. Just go!"

Will grabbed at Davis' hand and promised, "I'm not leaving you. I'm bringing you back home to your daughter." Davis' grasp on Will's collar loosened. Will caught his hand as it fell and laid it on the ground by his side. Turning to Cunningham, he extended his arm out and shouted, "Give me the flares!"

"What?!" Cunningham asked.

"Give me the flares!" Will repeated. "I'm going out there!"

"You're crazy!"

"Give me the damn flares!" Will demanded as he tackled Cunningham down.

"Here! Here!" Cunningham screamed as he shoved three sticks into Will's hands.

Will looked down at the three flares in his hand and nodded his head. "You better cover me."

Cunningham nodded back and said, "I gotcha."

Swallowing, Will stuck the flares into his vest pockets and held the M4 Carbine close to him. Closing his eyes for a moment, he charged outside the ruined building. Bullets rained down at him, but he dropped to ground in time and fired back. Behind him, Cunningham pressed his back against a wall and fired up at the men shooting at them. Looking up, Will could see a Black Hawk helicopter making its way towards them. Shooting down one of the men firing in his direction, Will rolled off to the side and ran around the building.

A man on the roof of another building fired at Will, but he took cover behind an old, wrecked car and shot back. The man ducked behind the railing of the building as he reloaded. Before he could turn back and fire at Will, though, Will tossed a grenade onto the roof. The top of the building erupted in fire and debris as Will charged around the back of the building towards the concrete steps. He could hear the bullets crashing into the side of the building behind him as he ran. He dropped to the stairs as he aimed his gun behind him. There was no one there though. Looking back, he crawled cautiously up the stairs as bullets hurtled at him.

As Will climbed back up to his feet, he saw a man across the street lift an RPG onto his shoulder. Will raised his rifle to shoot at the man, but one of the men inside the Black Hawk shot him down. Another man attempted to pick up the RPG, but the sniper inside the Black Hawk took his head off as well. Will hurriedly turned and sprinted across the roof. He jabbed two of the flares at his thighs, setting them off. A bright, red and white flame emerged from the tops of the sticks. Will tossed them onto the roof and slid over to the edge. He set off the third flame and tossed it into the middle of the roof.

The helicopter above headed for the building as Will fired down at the men preventing Cunningham and Davis from escaping. He shot two of the men on the roof of the building across from him then tossed a grenade into the truck beside a group of men shooting at them. The truck burst into flames and flipped over as the grenade went off. The men shooting next to it were flung it several directions. Turning his attention to the men inside the building to the left, Will reloaded and opened fire. Below him, Cunningham dragged Davis out while above, the Black Hawk started to land.

A man with an M16 aimed at Cunningham's back, but Will shot at him before he could fire. A scream escaped from the man as Will shot him down. Looking out the corner of his eye, Will watched Cunningham and Davis run to the side of the building. Behind Will, two of the men inside the helicopter helped him shoot at the men firing at them. Cunningham managed to drag Davis up to the roof seconds later and hurried into the helicopter.

"C'mon!" one of the men shouted at Will as he fired his rifle.

Will turned and ran over to him. He grabbed the side of the helicopter door and jumped inside. He landed beside Cunningham and Davis who managed to flash him a bloody smile. The two men from the helicopter hopped back inside as the pilot lifted up into the air. The sound of bullets still heading towards them, Will hung his head back against the metal of the Black Hawk. Beside him, Cunningham was smiling and shaking his head at the same time.

"What?" Will asked, out of breath.

"You're a crazy son of a bitch, you know that?" Cunningham replied. Will smiled back and looked down at the battle zone beneath them. "Nightingale."

"What?" Will asked, turning to Cunningham with a confused look.

"Nightingale. That's what I'm callin' you from now on," Cunningham told him. Chuckling, he laid his head down and exhaled loudly. "Nightingale."

-----

The four remaining guards stooped at the front entrance resumed their jobs and started patrolling the building once again. Two of the men reentered the building while the other two stayed outside. One of the two guards outside walked around the side of the building while the second stayed put at the front entrance. Stuffing his hands into the deep pockets of his leather black jacket, the guard sighed and looked around the lifeless street.

Will turned to Jay and Tyler as he heard the sound of a moan coming from behind. Jay had woken up. He rubbed his eyes and turned to the clock, which read nine-twenty-three. Yawning, he covered his mouth and stared out the window at the lone guard outside.

"They all gone?" Jay asked.

"There's only three left. They all went in different directions, though," Will informed him. "Two inside, one up front, and the last around back."

"What do we do?"

"I'm heading in there," Will said. "You two stay put and – "

"No, I'm going with you," Jay interceded.

"No, you're not. You're staying here with Tyler on lookout," Will sternly told him.

Jay grabbed Will by the collar of his jacket and shouted, "We don't need two people on lookout! I'm going in there with you."

"I can handle this myself, Jay."

"I don't care. You need to start depending on us, Will. You're not in this alone," Jay told his friend.

"What's going on?" Tyler asked as he rubbed his tired eyes. He had finally awoken.

Will faced Tyler and said, "You're staying out here as lookout, okay?" Tyler nodded in agreement as he looked out the window. Will turned back and Jay and asked, "You happy?"

-New York FBI Field Office-

Allison passed by a group of men and women in fine suits as she made her way up to the elevators. One of the mechanical doors slid open, allowing Allison to step in and press one of the buttons along the side panel. The doors closed a few seconds later and Allison started to feel the ground beneath her move up. Less than ten seconds later, the doors slid open again and Allison stepped out. Walking down a gray corridor, she pushed through the two blue doors at the entrance of the bullpen.

Striding over to her father's office, Allison realized this was the first time she'd come to visit without any food for her dad. All she had with her was her backpack, which contained the notes and documents Jack had retrieved for her. Allison stopped in mid-step as she came around the corner in front of her father's office. Through the glass on the office door, Allison could see her father staring down at a picture of himself, Allison, and her mother. It was the only picture Chambers kept around his office. Allison apprehensively grabbed the silver handle and pushed the door open.

Jolting up, Chambers turned to see Allison walk into his office. She flashed him a wry smile, which he returned. "Hey. How are you, honey?" he asked.

"Good. You?" Allison replied as she drew a chair up from the wall.

"I'm fine. Just tired," Chambers answered. Spinning around in his revolving chair, he looked at Allison and frowned. She didn't seem like her usual, feisty self. Her face was pale and her lips looked dry and chapped. "Something wrong, hon'?"

Allison paused and thought for a moment then shook her head. "Nope. Everything's fine."

"You sure? You don't look too good."

"I'm okay, Dad. Stop worrying!" Allison replied. The brightness was brought back into her face for only a split second.

"Alright," Chambers sighed. "I'm just worried about you."

"I know, Dad, but I'm fine."

Chambers nodded then gulped. Looking up from his folded hands, he asked, "Did you take a trip to Deer Harbor a few days ago?"

Allison's eyes widened in shock and she nodded. "Yeah, I – uh – used your credit card. Mine was empty and I really needed to go. I hope you don't mind," she excused herself.

"No. No. It's okay. I understand," Chambers replied. "But what were you doing in Deer Harbor?"

"I'm doing an article on the Drexler Bombing, remember?"

"Oh! That's right," Chambers said, pretending to be surprised. "You find anything useful?"

Allison awkwardly shook her head and muttered, "No. There was nothing there."

"I see. That's too bad." Chambers' eyes remained set on his fingers. He couldn't manage to look at Allison for longer than a few seconds. It hurt too much knowing what was being asked of him. "So… why'd you come? You need to ask me something, honey?"

"Oh, yeah, I wanted to ask you about a guy," Allison replied.

"Who?" Chambers asked, squinting his eyes.

"Joseph Langdon."

Chambers immediately raised his eyes up to his daughter and asked, "How do you know about him, Ally?"

Allison licked her lips and turned away from her dad's eyes. She stared at the wall to her right and said, "I was looking through your old military stuff. I found a picture of your old unit. I remember the name from somewhere."

Chambers looked away from Allison and adjusted his tie. "Yeah, you probably heard his name on the news a while back. He was killed by one of my agents. Turns out he had some involvement in the Drexler Bombing. It was a shame; he was a good soldier, a good man."

Nodding, Allison looked down at her feet and asked, "Were you two close?"

Thinking for a moment, Chambers shook his head and said, "No. Not particularly. He was just another soldier under my hand."

"I understand," Allison meekly replied.

"Is that all you wanted to ask?"

"Yeah. It was stupid. It was just grating me for some reason," Allison said, giggling at herself. Moving strands of hair from her eyes, she smiled at her dad and stood up from the seat. "I'll see you later, Dad. I'm gonna head back home now."

Chambers nodded at his daughter and replied, "Alright. I'll see you at home."

-Hanover, VA-

Will holstered his .45 USP and opened the door. As he stepped outside, Jay stuffed a 9mm down the front of his pants and exited the car as well.

Holding the door open, Jay looked back at Tyler and said, "Make sure you stay awake. You gotta warn us if the cops or anybody shows up."

"Gotcha," Tyler replied as he hopped into the driver's seat. "Be careful in there."

"We will," Jay said as he slammed the door.

"C'mon. Let's go." Will motioned for Jay to follow him across the empty street to the Polshek Partnership building.

Up the steps of the entrance, the security guard noticed Will and Jay walking up to him and rose to attention. Turning to them, he stuck his palm out and grabbed a hold of his nightstick.

"Sorry boys, but no one's allowed inside these hours," he warned them.

"Oh no! It's not that!" Will lied, waving his hands in front of him. "We don't live around here. We were just passing by and I think we got lost."

The security guard glanced at Will then at Jay then let go of his nightstick. Relaxing, he asked, "You need help with directions or something?"

Sticking his hand down his back pant pocket, Will eased closer to the guard and replied, "Yeah, I have a map, but it's not helping."

"Let me see," the guard said as he leaned towards Will.

Will pulled out a folded up map and started to open it. Before he could show it to the guard, though, he thrust his left elbow into the man's gut then punched him across the face. As the guard staggered backwards, he reached for his nightstick. Relentlessly, Will put a hand on the nightstick, pushing it back down into its Velcro sheath. He punched the guard across the face again then slammed the back of his head into the wall behind him. The guard's head bobbed forward and backward then hung down as he lost consciousness. Holding him up, Will tossed the keys to Jay and signaled for him to open the door.

"What are we doing with him?" Jay asked as he held the unlocked door for Will.

Will dragged the unconscious security guard into the building and said, "We're leaving him here. Hurry up."

Will sat the guard's body down on a blue chair and rested his head up against the wall. Lowering the bill of the man's cap, Will turned to Jay and led him over to a navy blue door. Printed on the door in white stencil letters was the word 'Stairs'. Will opened the door and led Jay up the long stairwell behind it.

"The archives are supposed to be on the seventh floor," Will said as he climbed the stairs.

"How are we gonna find them? There's bound to be hundreds of files in there," Jay replied as he turned and walked up another flight of stairs.

"I'm willing to bet they're categorized. Most files are."

Jay nodded in reply as he followed Will up another set of stairs.

-New York FBI Field Office-

As Allison made her way across the bullpen, she was stopped by Agent Rex. Rex grabbed Allison by her shoulder and forced her to turn to her. With a confused look on her face, Allison looked at Rex and furrowed her brow.

"Something wrong, Agent Rex?" she asked.

"I need to talk to you about something," Rex cautiously stated. "Do you have time?"

Allison looked around the room as if she were checking for any listeners and said, "Yeah."

Rex nodded and escorted Allison through the blue doors of the bullpen. The two women walked over to the elevators and waited for one to show up. "You heard about the Marlow sighting a few days ago, right?"

"Yeah. It's been all over the news," Allison replied. "Why?"

"I was the one who saw her," Agent Rex told Allison.

"Okay…" Allison murmured, obviously perplexed by Rex's odd behavior. "What's this got to do with me?"

"She-She told me your father's dirty," Rex revealed. Allison snapped her head towards Rex; her eyes were wide with fright and surprise. "She said he was involved in the Drexler Bombing."

Allison looked away from Rex; she could feel her heart beginning to beat faster and faster. Worry and fear began to take over her body as she heard one of the elevator doors open. Rex grabbed her by the arm and dragged her into the elevator.

"I didn't believe it either when she told me – and I'm not saying I believe it now – but it's a little suspicious…"

"What are you talking about? Do you really think my father has something to do with the guys that blew up the Drexler?!"

"No, I'm not saying that!" Rex rebuked. "Listen, Marlow told me to do a cross-reference check on your father and a man named Jack Freed. Have you heard of him?"

"Yeah, he used to be in the FBI and he was the Deputy Director of Homeland Security. He died in some explosion like three months ago," Allison answered.

"That's right. Did you ever meet him?"

"No. Why?"

"Do you know if he and your father were close?"

"No. My dad never talked about him. Why? What's this all about?!" The tone in Allison's voice showed her irritation towards Agent Rex. It looked as if smoke was about to start streaming out her ears and nose.

"My cross-reference check pulled up some information that connects the two of them together," Agent Rex revealed. "Your father was part of a unit ran by Jack Freed. The unit did a lot of things that would be considered unethical, maybe even illegal, but they were never reprimanded for what they did. Every member of that unit is dead now, except for your father."

The ghastly look of Allison's face intensified and she looked as if she was about to burst out crying. "Are you talking about First Recon?" she suddenly questioned.

"You know about it," Rex gasped, bewildered. Refusing to answer, Allison looked away and shook her head. The elevator doors slid open and she immediately stepped out. Before she could go anywhere, though, Rex grabbed her by the sleeve of her shirt. "Wait! Allison, if you know something, you need to tell me now."

Shaking her head furiously, Allison replied, "I don't know anything."

Eyeing her, Rex could tell Allison was lying. Nevertheless, she reached into the inside lining of her jacket and took out a manila folder. She shoved the folder into Allison's hands as she held the elevator door open. "I made copies of what I found. Please, Allison, just look it over. You're his daughter. Maybe you can make more sense of it than I can. Maybe everything I've found is just a coincidence. I need you to do this."

Allison gazed down at the manila folder in her hand and gulped. Nodding, she replied, "Fine. I'll look it over."

-Hanover, VA-

Outside the building, Tyler quietly sat in the Honda Civic, tapping his fingers against the dashboard. The keys were already stuck in the ignition and the engine was started up just in case. Warm air blasted Tyler across the face as he stared reminiscently out the window. The soft music trailing into the car through the speakers faded as Tyler zoned out at the luminescent building before him.

-East Hampton, NY-

The cold, cerulean water slapped Tyler hard as his body bobbed up and down in the foamy waves. The beating waves kept coming and coming at him, pushing him farther and farther back. Nevertheless, he refused to quit and kept swimming onwards. Guided only by the sound of a little boy's screams, Tyler forcefully swam through the resisting waters. The sun was already halfway set as Tyler reared his head up from the water to take a deep breath. Diving back underneath, he paddled his arms through the waves.

"Tyler!" he heard a shriek.

Lifting his head up, Tyler shifted around in the water in search of the source of the voice. His hearing was beginning to give away as water filled up in his ears. Fervently shaking his head, Tyler tried to get as much water out of his face and ears as possible. Slicking his hair back away from his eyes with his hand, Tyler looked up over the assaulting waves. Another swell tumbled towards him and pushed him underwater. With all his strength, though, Tyler pushed on through.

"Tyler!" the voice screamed again.

"I'm coming!" Tyler shouted back as he smashed across the water with his arms.

Through the foam obscuring his vision, Tyler could see a pair of skinny arms flailing up in the air. With a surge of adrenaline, Tyler swam as fast as possible towards the arms. Suddenly, a wave crashed over them and Tyler watched as the arms dipped back into the water. Hurrying, he reached where he'd seen the arms before.

"Gabriel! Gabriel!" he called.

As he floated in the water, he felt something touch his feet. Inhaling, Tyler dove underwater and grabbed at whatever touched him. He felt his brother's boney wrist and grabbed it tightly. With all his might, he pulled Gabriel up and lifted his head over the water. Gabriel's eyes burst open and he began gasping for air as Tyler held him closely to his chest.

"Hold on, little brother," Tyler said as he started for the shore. "Hold on."

-----

A single tear slipped down Tyler's eye as he thought about his brother. The despairing look on his face suddenly changed into an angered one. Gritting his teeth, he punched the steering wheel and elbowed the side of the door. His heart racing, Tyler grabbed the steering wheel with both hands and leaned into it. He began to moan uncontrollably as he clenched his teeth tightly together. Again, he slapped the steering wheel in anger.

-----

Inside the Polshek Partnership building, Will and Jay reached the seventh floor. Will eased the door open and warily looked outside to see if anyone was on that floor. He scanned up and down the hall in front of him, but fortunately there was nobody there. He opened the door all the way and motioned for Jay to follow him.

"Keep your head low. There're cameras around," Will warned as he hung his head down as he walked.

Jay quickly brought his chin down and followed Will down the hallway. He stopped, though, as Will stuck his hand out at him. Pressing his back against the wall, Will craned his neck out to see if anyone was in the next room. Hurriedly walking, Will headed into the room to find the archives. There were dozens of shelves and filing cabinets forming rows and columns in the room.

Will walked up to one of the cabinets and read the label on the side. It read nineteen-seventy to nineteen-ninety. He walked over to the next one and read nineteen-ninety to two-thousand-one.

"They're categorized by the years the buildings were probably built," Will noted.

Jay snapped his head towards Will with a confused look. "The Art Gallery at Yale was built in nineteen-fifty-three. These start with nineteen-seventy!"

"It was renovated by Polshek in two-thousand-six," Will informed Jay. He found the filing cabinet labeled with a two-thousand six and said, "Right here."

With one of the keys, Will opened the filing cabinet and looked through the folders inside. The folders were separated by year. He found the one labeled two-thousand-six and pulled it out. Inside the folder were several tinier folders, each labeled with the title of the building project. Smiling, Will found the one labeled Yale University Art Gallery and took it out. He stuffed the rest of the folders back into the filing cabinet and looked into the folder.

"Is it the right one?" Jay asked.

"Yes, it is!" Will rejoiced. Suddenly, though, he grabbed Jay and pushed him to the ground. The sound of an elevator door opening echoed through the spacious room. Will put his index finger to his lip as he crawled across the floor.

A middle-aged man in a blue shirt pushed a rack of cleaning supplies into the archive and stopped at the entrance. Grabbing a spray bottle and a cloth, he walked towards the filing cabinets and started spraying them. In the corner of the room, Jay turned to the filing cabinet he and Will had gone through. Smacking Will's chest lightly, he pointed out they had forgot to close the cabinet.

"What are we doing?" Jay asked.

"C'mon, we have to get out now," Will said as he started crawling along the ground.

He stopped when he heard the janitor stop wiping. Craning his neck around the filing cabinet, he saw the janitor pick the cloth up from the ground. Once he saw the man start up again, he headed back down the floor and snuck around the side. Jay followed close behind and together, the two hurried for the stairs. Will carefully opened the door so as to not make any sound. He held the door open for Jay and closed it slowly before following Jay down the stairs.

Suddenly, Jay stopped running as the door before him flung open and another janitor stared at them. Jay's eyes widened as the janitor jumped at the surprise.

"Run!" Will advised as he pushed Jay.

Jay started for the stairs and ran as fast as he could while the janitor pulled out a radio to inform someone. Will hurriedly followed Jay down the stairs as the janitor looked down at them.

"C'mon! Let's take the elevator! It'll be faster!" Jay suggested.

Will followed Jay as he kicked a door open and rushed to the elevator. He pushed one of the buttons repeatedly as he prayed for the elevator to come. A ping sound emanated from the elevator a second later as Jay and Will jumped inside and closed the door. As the elevator doors slid to a close, they heard the alarm sounding throughout the building.

"What is that?! What is that?!" Jay shrieked.

"It means we have to hurry!" Will shouted.

In the car, Tyler bolted up as he heard the deafening alarm of the Polshek building. He started looking around as the sirens of squad cars filled the street. Two police cars came down from the other end of the long, stretching street. Not knowing what else to do, Tyler quickly started up the car and shifted into Drive. Stepping hard on the gas pedal, he charged straight for the two squad cars. One of the squad cars attempted to swerve out of the way, but ended up crashing into another parked car. It hopped onto the sidewalk as Tyler slammed into the side of the other squad car. The front bumper of the Civic flung open as the front of the car smashed into the policemen.

The airbag of the Civic popped open as Tyler listened to the glass around him shattering. Shoving the airbag out of his face, Tyler looked around the two squad cars. The policemen in the car he crashed into appeared knocked out, but the men behind him were struggling to get out. Tyler hastily opened the door and climbed out. He took one last look at the policemen in the other car before rushing down the street.

Will and Jay managed to reach the lobby and made their way towards the front entrance. Someone appeared behind them, though, cocking a gun. "Freeze!" the man ordered.

"Keep moving!" Will told Jay as he grabbed him by his sleeve.

The security guard opened fire, but missed both times. Will pushed Jay through the front door as he followed him through. Outside, though, another security guard appeared, waving a gun in front of him. The man pointed it at Will and Jay who turned around to see the other guard aiming his weapon at them as well. Sighing dejectedly, Jay raised his arms up in surrender. Will eyed the two guards shrewdly, but brought his arms up over his head as well. The guard in front of the boys reached behind his back for a pair of handcuffs before moving in on them.

"Hold it!" Tyler ordered from behind. The security guard turned his head to see Tyler aiming a pistol at his back. "Drop the gun!" The guard looked back at his partner who had a worried look on his face. "I said, drop the gun!"

"Hold on now, kid," the guard said as he began to lower his weapon.

"Put the gun on the ground and slide it over to them," Tyler said, motioning towards Jay and Will. As the guard kicked the gun towards Will, Tyler turned his head to look at the two squad cars he'd wrecked. One of the cops in the car was beginning to awaken.

Will picked up the security guard's gun and turned to the guard behind him and Jay. "You, do the same. Drop the gun!"

The guard gulped and nodded as he set the gun on the ground and slid it towards Jay. Jay picked the gun up and clumsily aimed it at the guard. Will grabbed Jay by the sleeve of his jacket and dragged him away from the entrance. Grabbing Tyler, he led the two boys down the steps. While keeping his gun trained on the guards, he said to Jay and Tyler, "C'mon, we gotta get outta here. Cops are coming."

At the foot of the stairs, the three boys turned and headed down the street. Will led them down an alley and onto the other side of the street as the sound of more police cars arriving echoed through the dark streets. A squad car sped passed the boys as they emerged on the other side of the alley. Will halted as he watched the car turn the corner.

"Jay, reach into my backpack for the drill!" Will ordered.

Jay unzipped Will's backpack and found his drill, which Will had used countless times before to pick locks. He tossed it to Will who ran over to the nearest car. Sticking the drill into the keyhole of an old green Ford Taurus, Will unlocked the door and leaned over the two front seats. He ripped off the covering under the steering wheel and started to hot wire the car. Outside the car, Jay and Tyler nervously waited for the car's engine to start. Seconds later, the engine came to life and Will climbed into the driver's seat. Jay hopped into the passenger seat beside him as Tyler jumped into the back. The two doors slammed to a close as Will turned the wheel and made a u-turn down the street.

-Staten Island, NY-

Allison sat at her desk in her bedroom. It was a small desk with a laptop in front of it and a chair slid under it. Allison sat on the chair with her jacket draped over the back. In her arm was the photograph she'd found in the basement of the house. She was studying the faces of the men beside her own father. Her attention was drawn away from the photo, though, when she felt a vibrating in her pants. Reaching into her pocket for her cellphone, she slid it open and answered.

"Allison here," she greeted.

"Ally, it's Rob," a young man's voice said.

"Hey, Rob. What's up?" she asked somewhat cheerily.

"It's Jack," the man, Rob, mumbled. "He's dead."

Allison's eyes lifted up from the photograph as she dropped it onto the table. Her eyes getting wider and wider and her mouth gaping open, Allison frantically looked around her room. She could feel her heart beating irregularly as she tensely held onto the phone. She opened here mouth to say something, but nothing came out. The cellphone started to shake as Allison's body trembled with fear and guilt. The phone dropped from ear and landed on top of the photo. At the bottom of the photograph were the names of the men in the unit. Somewhere around the middle of the list of names were Joseph Langdon, Fred Chambers, and the name of the man beside Chambers: Thomas Burchell.

-Washington, DC-

An aging woman with short, blondish gray hair sat in the kitchen of a large lavish home. A cutting board sat in front of her with chopped celery packed into one pile. The woman picked up a carrot and set it on the cutting board. Reaching over with her index finger, she pressed a button on the telephone receiver. The sound of a phone ringing on the other side emanated from the receiver as the woman started chopping the carrot into chunks. The ringing sound vanished a few seconds later, alerting the woman someone had answered.

"Burchell, Fog, and Traveler have become a nuisance," the woman said gratingly. She brought the knife down on the last piece of carrot and continued, "Finish the job."

-New York City-

Somewhere in New York City, Otis Whaley sat at a large, empty table. He finished the rest of scotch in his glass and replied, "Understood." He hung the silver cellphone up and stuck it back in his pocket. Slamming the empty glass of scotch on the table, he climbed up to his feet and exited the room.

-Hanover, VA-

The green Ford Taurus drove away from the sound of police sirens wailing away in the background. Seated in the passenger seat, Jay sighed and rubbed his face with his hands. He stared contemplatively out the window as Will drove passed a traffic light. Behind him, Tyler hung his head against the top of his seat. His eyes were blinded by the headlights of an oncoming car.

Sighing exhaustedly, he asked, "Where to next?"

Will looked at Tyler through the rearview mirror and answered, "New Haven."


	13. Chapter 13: The Crypt

Guest Starring

Frank Mills…………………..Chiwetel Ejiofor

Nicole Rex………………...Rose Byrne

Rosalind Freed………...…...Mary Tyler Moore

Otis Whaley…………………Enrique Mitchell

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Chapter 13: The Crypt**

The Polshek Partnership building was hectic with the rabble of police officers strolling about the giant facility. Overhead, the sun was beginning to rise with its rays reflecting off the shiny, yellow caution tape wrapped around the front entrance. Several squad cars with their sirens activated sat parked on the street in front of the building. The two cars Tyler had crashed into the night before were still strewn about the street like rag dolls. A black SUV drove passed the two wrecked squad cars and came to a stop in front of the architecture firm's massive building. All four doors of the SUV swung open as Chambers stepped out with Mills and Rex following behind.

Chambers walked over to the head police officer and introduced himself. Flashing his badge, he recited, "Special Agent-in-Charge Fred Chambers. This is Mills and Rex. We're from the New York Field Office."

"Nice to meet you," the policeman said, shaking Chambers' hand. "I'm Sheriff Burke."

Nodding, Chambers immediately asked, "Any casualties?"

"Nope," Burke replied, shaking his head. "No one was killed, but four of our men and a security guard suffered minor injuries."

"I see," Chambers said as he looked back at the two wrecked cars on the road. "You're sure it was Burchell and Traveler that broke into the building?"

Burke nodded confidently and answered, "We showed the janitor mug shots of your boys. It was definitely them."

"So I'm guessing Fog's the one that caused that," Chambers replied, pointing his thumb back at the damaged squad cars.

Burke nodded and said, "Our forensics guys checked the fingerprints, they matched."

"How'd they break in?"

"They had keys," Burke answered. Chambers turned to him with a mixture of shock and confusion on his face. "Apparently, one of them stole the keys off one of our guards. He reported it and they were supposed to change the locks today. Too late now."

"Was anything stolen?"

"Yeah, schematics to one of the firm's old projects," Burke replied as he led Chambers into the lobby. "They broke into the archives and stole a file folder containing the blueprint to the Yale University Art Gallery."

"The Yale Art Gallery?" Chambers muttered. He put his hands to his waist and wondered, "What would they need a blueprint to the Art Gallery for?"

Burke shrugged and said, "It's all they stole."

Chambers grabbed the walkie-talkie at his side and pressed a button on the side of it. "Mills, this is Chambers. Do you read me?"

"This is Mills," came a staticky voice.

"Our boys stole blueprints to the Yale University Art Gallery."

"What? What for?!"

"Not sure yet, but we know where they're headed. Let's get a team ready and head down there as soon as possible!"

-Newark, New Jersey-

The door to an old, cramped apartment opened as Marlow walked in with several bags of groceries. She kicked the door closed behind her and struggled to turn the lock. Turning it, she walked back to her kitchen and set the grocery bags on the counter. Heading into the living room, she picked up the remote control and turned the TV on to the news. Setting the remote back down, she strode back to the kitchen to put away her groceries. As she stuck a carton of milk into the refrigerator, something on the news caught her ears. Her eyes widening, she hurried back to the living room and stood in front of the TV, her arms crossed over her chest.

There was a woman standing in front of the Polshek Partnership building in Virginia with a microphone to her lips. Behind her, several police men and women were walking about. Staring into the camera, she pronounced, "There was a break-in here at the Polshek Partnership Architecture Firm's main building. Sources close to the site confirm that the perpetrators were indeed the suspects of the Drexler Bombing, Jay Burchell, Tyler Fog, and Will Traveler."

Marlow's eyes got even wider and she reached for the remote to turn up the volume.

"We have Special Agent-in-Charge Fred Chambers with us to give you more details," the woman said. The cameraman focused in on Chambers who stood beside the newscaster. She lifted the microphone up to his mouth, signaling for him to start talking. "What more can you tell us about what has transpired here?"

"You pretty much have the gist of what occurred last night," Chambers said. "The only other thing I can tell you is that we know our suspects are headed to New Haven, Connecticut, specifically Yale University's Art Gallery. We want everyone out there watching this right now to please be on the lookout for these boys. We are doing our best to apprehend them, but we need your help as well. Please, if anyone sights any of these three then call the FBI hotline."

A sigh escaped Marlow's lips as she turned the TV off. Walking back into the kitchen, she grabbed her car keys and stepped into her shoes. Taking one look back at her apartment, she slammed the door closed behind her as she clamored down the stairs.

-Upper East Side, Manhattan-

Unlocking the front door of his penthouse apartment, Gabriel pushed the door open and strode inside. He closed the door behind him as he started to take off his jacket. Tossing the jacket onto the arms of a chair, he headed down the hall into his bedroom. As he unbuttoned his dress shirt, he cracked the kinks out of his neck. Suddenly, he stopped as he saw a figure standing inside his bedroom. Quietly stepping back, he slipped into the bathroom and grabbed a hand towel from the rack. Stretching the towel out, he crept towards his bedroom and looked back inside.

There was a man inside he'd never seen before. He appeared to be looking at the picture of Gabriel and his family that sat atop the bedside drawer. Sneakily, Gabriel entered the room and crept behind the man. Bringing the hand towel over the man's head, he quickly brought it back down and pulled back in an attempt to choke the man. Before he could wrap the towel completely around the man's neck, though, the man slipped his hand in between the towel and his neck and tried to fend off Gabriel. Gabriel pulled tightly with the towel and kicked the man in the back of his knee.

The man almost dropped to the ground, but he managed to overpower Gabriel and throw him over his head. Gabriel crashed into the wall and the man grabbed the towel from his neck and tossed it aside. Gabriel climbed back up to his feet and stared into Otis Whaley's empty eyes. Squaring up, Gabriel threw a right hook, but Whaley blocked with his left forearm and threw a punch at Gabriel's face. Gabriel blocked the hit and kicked Whaley away. As Whaley staggered backwards, Gabriel lunged at him with two jabs to the face. Whaley's head flew backwards and Gabriel grabbed his right arm. Pulling Whaley towards him, Gabriel struck him in the chest with his elbow. Whaley tried to fight back, but Gabriel blocked with his other arm and headbutted him in the forehead.

Whaley fell to the ground as Gabriel lunged at him with a kick. However, Whaley rolled out of the way and hopped back onto his feet. Smirking, he threw a punch at Gabriel. Gabriel ducked and threw an uppercut, but Whaley dodged the hit and grabbed Gabriel's arm. Locking Gabriel's arm around his own, Whaley thrust his elbow into Gabriel's chest several times. With all his strength, Whaley lifted Gabriel up off his feet and threw him onto the ground. Gabriel's body landed on the floor with a hard thud and Whaley lifted his foot up to slam it back down on Gabriel's chest. Spit flew out of Gabriel's mouth as Whaley's heavy boot fell upon his chest.

Madly gritting his teeth, Gabriel grabbed Whaley's foot and twisted it, forcing Whaley to stagger and fall to the ground. Standing back up, Gabriel kicked Whaley twice in the side. He rolled Whaley over with his foot and grabbed him by the collar of his jacket. Whaley tried to headbutt him, but Gabriel grabbed him by the head and tossed his body against the wall. Whaley fell back onto the floor and Gabriel once again lifted him up. Pinning Whaley to the wall with his left forearm, Gabriel reached for the gun at his side and pressed it against Whaley's neck.

"Who are you?!" Gabriel demanded to know. Whaley smirked at Gabriel and tried to push him away. "Tell me who you are!"

"I work for the same people your father's working with!" Whaley revealed. "Let me go! I'm here to help you!"

Gabriel let go of Whaley, but kept his Colt trained on him. Whaley brushed his jacket and raised his hands up in surrender. "What's your name?"

"The people your father works with sent me here to help you."

"I don't need any help," Gabriel grunted.

"Considering Traveler and his friends are still alive and kickin', it seems you do!" Whaley fired back. Grabbing the barrel of Gabriel's gun, he said, "Now, put the gun down so we can talk like men."

Gabriel glared at Whaley and brought the gun down. Flipping the safety back on, he stuck it back into the holster and asked, "What makes you think you can help me find them?"

"First off, I already know where they are," Whaley muttered.

"What?"

"If you just used the resources already provided to you, maybe you would've had an easier time hunting them down," Whaley arrogantly taunted. Smirking, he brushed passed Gabriel and said, "They're on the way to New Haven."

-Somewhere in Pennsylvania-

A flock of crows flew across the sun-filled sky above a roadside diner. There were several trucks parked off to the side with a few vehicles parked in front of the diner. Among the cars parked out front was the green Taurus Will, Jay, and Tyler had hot wired the night before. Sitting in a booth inside the diner were the three boys with plates of food in front of them.

Jay stabbed a piece of ham with his fork and began cutting at it with his knife while Tyler bit into a piece of buttered toast. Next to Tyler, Will scooped some scrambled eggs up with his fork and shoved it into his mouth. The boys' backpacks sat at their feet, ready to go just in case they were spotted. Jay swallowed the ham and grabbed his glass of orange juice to take a drink.

"How long till we get to New Haven?" Tyler asked as he bit one end of a sausage.

Will pushed his sleeve away from his wrist and looked at his black wristwatch. "It's eight-thirty so that means we'll be in New Haven by twelve-thirty or one."

"What are we gonna do about security?" Jay wanted to know. "After last night, I'm bettin' they already know we're headed to New Haven."

"That's what I'm worried about. The place is gonna be crawling with Feds and police by the time we get there," Will said, drinking his juice.

As Tyler bit into a crispy strip of bacon, his eyes brightened and he looked over at Jay. Tapping his finger on the table before Jay, he asked, "You remember those steam pipes we used to get outta the library?"

"Yeah. What about 'em?" Jay asked.

"How far do you think they run underground?"

"What? You mean the steam tunnels under Yale?" Will questioned. Tyler turned to Will and nodded. "Those tunnels run all throughout the campus." Facing Jay, he added, "Wait. Do you know how to get around there?"

Jay nodded vigorously and started to smile. "Yeah, I used to use them all the time." Will smiled proudly, surprised Tyler had come up with another good idea. "Hold on, I only know how to get into the library. I don't think I can get us all the way to the Art Gallery and into the Trumbull section."

Lifting up one of the schematics, Will smirked at Jay and said, "Good thing we have a map then."

-Manhattan, NY-

Dozens of people crowded around a green and white house in Manhattan. All the men, women, and children were dressed in black clothes. A woman sat in the corner crying while her husband embraced her closely. A teenage boy with dark brown hair stood next to them with a somber expression on her face. Allison, dressed in a black shirt and blouse, walked over to them.

"I'm sorry about Jack," she muttered morosely. The color in her face was gone; it looked like she was the one who died. "I-I…"

"It's okay, honey," the husband told her. He caressed Allison's right shoulder and smiled glumly at her.

A tear started down Allison's cheek as she looked up at the man and touched his old, wrinkly hand. Biting her lower lip to stop herself from bawling, she nodded at the man and walked away. Across the room stood a short, young man with messy, dark brown hair and stubble around his chin. He wore a black jacket over a white dress shirt and black slacks. Noticing Allison coming towards him, he looked up and smiled wryly at her.

"Hey. How are you?" he greeted her.

"Not so good," Allison said as she leaned her back against the wall beside the man. "What about you?"

Shaking his head, the young man sighed, "Same. I can't believe he's gone."

Crossing her arms over her chest, Allison looked over at the mahogany casket sitting in the middle of the room and asked, "What happened? Someone just came in and shot him?"

"Police say it was a robbery. They broke into our apartment and I guess Jack came in at the wrong time."

Nodding, Allison asked, "What'd they take?"

"Um… some old paintings, a stereo, and our TV," the young man answered. "Who the hell would kill someone over that stuff?"

Allison put her hand on the young man's shoulder and muttered, "Not everyone's a good person out there."

The young man took a deep breath and put his head back against the wall. "Did you look at him yet?" he asked.

"Not yet," Allison timidly replied.

Turning away from her friend, she slowly strode across the floor over to the casket. Clenching her teeth, she reached the casket and sluggishly leaned over. Jack's body lay inside the casket dressed in a nice black suit. His arms were folded over his chest and a peaceful look was plastered on his face. Allison bit her lower lip again and tried to turn away. No matter how hard her body shook, though, she couldn't bring herself to look away from him. She couldn't help, but feel guilty and suspicious that he was killed because of her.

"This stuff you got me into, Ally – it seems pretty deep, pretty dangerous," Allison could hear him warning her.

"Don't worry, Jack. No one's going to find out," Allison remembered promising him.

As she remembered her words, tears began to stream down her face and she felt her knees begin to buckle. A weary groan escaped her lips as she held onto the edge of the casket for dear life. The young man she was speaking with earlier walked over to her and put his arm around her shoulder. Still crying, she lay her face into his chest and walked away from the casket with him.

-New Haven, CT-

Scattered throughout the town of New Haven were several FBI agents brought down by Agent Chambers from New York. Many of them were walking around Yale's campus with stacks of fliers in their hands. Printed on the fliers were the mug shots of Jay Burchell, Tyler Fog, and Will Traveler. A blonde FBI agent handed three fliers to a trio of students walking passed him on campus. The three students glanced down at the fliers as they walked off. In the center of Yale's campus stood Agents Chambers, Mills, and Rex.

Mills and Rex both had fliers with them that they handed out to anybody passing by. Chambers seemed to be the only one without his own stack to pass out. As Mills handed a flier to a young man walking through, he looked up at Chambers and asked, "We know yet why they needed blueprints to the Art Gallery?"

Chambers shook his head and said, "Doesn't match up. I don't see why they'd risk all this just to get into some Art Gallery."

"You think there's something in there that they need?" Mills suggested.

"Or maybe they're planning on setting off a bomb," Rex added. She handed two fliers out to two students passing by and continued, "We found napalm on some of their items, meaning they could possibly have a bomb with them. They blew up one art museum, maybe they're here to do it again."

"Yeah, but why the blueprints?" Mills questioned. He appeared irritated and impatient. "Why would they risk their lives to steal blueprints to an art gallery?! If they really are planning on blowing the place up, they could just walk in there."

"Security's surrounding the place twenty-four-seven!" Rex retorted. "Maybe they needed the blueprints to find another way in."

"No, they lived here for two years. Came to this place nearly every day," Chambers said, shaking his head. "They need those blueprints for something else."

"Then what do we do?" Mills asked.

"Let the other agents and policemen pass out these fliers. Mills, get local PD on the phone and have them set up checkpoints around the city. I want you to supervise the one closest to here. Rex, I want you to go to the cross-campus library. Look through all their documents and articles. I wanna know why these guys are coming here. We know the why, we'll figure out the where!" Chambers instructed. Raising his eyebrows, he chanted, "Anyone has any clue of where these guys are, I want to be alerted immediately, understand?"

Mills and Rex both nodded. Mills complacently stated, "Crystal clear, sir." Meanwhile, Rex stood off to the side, facing away from Chambers. Out of the corner of her eye, she suspiciously watched Chambers walk off, his hands at his sides.

-Somewhere in New York-

Gabriel's Lexus sped down a highway along with several other cars as he and Whaley headed towards New Haven. Steering the wheel, Gabriel cautiously eyed Whaley beside him. Whaley noticed and turned to him. Gabriel quickly turned away, though, and continued driving.

-Massachusetts – Fourteen Years Ago-

At the age of eleven, Gabriel was a rather short boy. He stood at about four-foot-nine and had short, curly brown hair that was matted down by the bright red hat he wore. Clumsily holding a hunting rifle in his arms, he wadded through the tall grass in the woods. Dressed in a black sweater, red vest, and jeans, he listened closely for the sounds of deer in the area. He heard one a few yards away and fired into the woods. A flock of crows flapped their wings wildly as they crossed the line of trees.

"Watch your shot! You want it to count!" Carlton Fog said from afar. He came out of the bushes in the woods behind Gabriel with his own rifle. Lifting the rifle up, he took aim and readied his shot. As a deer shot through the trees, he fired, but missed.

"C'mon, Dad, can we just go?" someone said from behind. Carlton and Gabriel turned to see Tyler walking towards them with his rifle pointed at the ground. He ripped the orange hat from his messy hair and ran his fingers through it. "We haven't hit anything and we've been here for like two hours."

"Hunting requires patience, cunning, and skill, Tyler," Carlton told his son.

"So?" Tyler shrugged. Compared to Gabriel, Tyler was quite tall. He was around five-foot-four. Gabriel looked up at Tyler with admiring eyes as he and his dad argued.

"I'm trying to teach you something here, son," Carlton sighed.

"And what would that be?" Tyler asked, raising his rifle up. Without even looking for something to shoot, Tyler hastily pulled the trigger, firing a bullet into a tree.

"It's a tough world out there, son," Carlton warned. He looked over at Gabriel and pulled him closer. "Both of you need to learn this: when you grow up, you're not going to have anyone to depend on, no one to buy you stuff, cook you dinner, make your beds; you're going to have to make decisions that'll greatly affect your lives and the lives of others around you."

"But that's not for a long time, right?" Gabriel asked.

Carlton smiled at his son and patted him on the back. "Not for a long, long time, son."

-----

"What's in New Haven?" Gabriel wanted to know, turning back to Whaley.

"Our targets," Whaley replied coldly. His eyes remained fixated on the sweeping highway.

"No, I mean why are they there for?" Gabriel asked as he looked back at the road.

Whaley glowered at Gabriel and asked, "Why does it matter? Our job is to terminate your brother and his friends. We don't need to be asking questions."

"I'm just trying to understand what's going on," Gabriel replied, rubbing his chin with his free hand.

"All you need to know is that your family is in some big, big trouble and you could be able to save them if you do your job," Whaley said in a threatening matter. He looked at Gabriel sternly and asked, "Got it?"

Gabriel turned to Whaley with a grimace and nodded. "Yeah, I got it," he sighed.

-Somewhere in Pennsylvania-

The sound of rock music seamlessly streamed into the cabin of the green Ford Taurus as Will sped down the grassy highway. It felt like it had been so long since any of the three boys could afford to kick back and listen to music. It seemed almost peaceful. Jay rested his elbow against the open window of the car and looked out at the passing grassy valleys while Tyler lay back in his seat with the wind coming in from Jay's window blasting his hair back. The wind felt warm and cool at the same time; Tyler smiled faintly in the backseat.

In the driver's seat, Will rested his left elbow against his window while he held the steering wheel with his right hand. He sighed as he kept his tired eyes on the long stretch of road before him. Suddenly, he jolted up in his seat as the sound of a police siren going off alerted him. Bringing his eyes up to his rearview mirror, he saw a white squad car trailing behind their Taurus.

As soon as he heard the siren go off, Tyler spun around. Staring out the back window, he saw the two policemen in the car behind them motioning for them to pull over. He immediately turned to Will, grabbed his shoulder, and ordered, "Don't you dare slow down, Will!"

Will turned to his side mirror and watched as the squad car got closer and closer to their bumper. Turning to Tyler, he said, "I have to. It'll be more suspicious if I just kept going."

"They're cops, Will! They know who we are!" Tyler retorted.

"You don't know that!" Will shouted back. "Just keep calm and stay quiet. Let me handle this!"

Gradually slowing down, Will pulled over to the shoulder of the road and put the car in Park. Lifting the emergency brake lever up, he watched the man in the passenger seat exit the squad car. The police officer walked right up to the driver's side and leaned into the car through the open window. He took a look at all three boys who did their best to appear innocent and inconspicuous.

"You know how fast you boys were goin'?" the officer asked.

"No, sir," Will replied. "Were we over the speed limit?"

"Yeah, you were," the policeman said, nodding his head. "I'm afraid I'm gonna have to give you a ticket." Will nodded in response. "Please give me your license and registration."

Will gulped as he realized the registration in the car didn't match up with his license. Nevertheless, he reached over Jay and popped open the glove compartment. He pulled out the registration papers and reached into his back pocket for his wallet. Setting the registration papers on his lap, he opened his wallet and drew out a driver's license with the name Jonas Wells on it. He handed the license and registration over to the policeman and quietly sat back.

"Thank you," the policeman muttered as he took the paper and card from Will. He looked at Will's face and matched it up to the image on the license. Nodding to himself, he unfolded the yellow registration papers and searched for the name. As he read the name on the top left corner, he seemed to be taken aback. His brow furrowed and his lips pursed. He quickly turned to Will and asked, "Sir, please get out of the vehicle. Your friends as well."

"Something wrong, Officer?" Will asked, squinting his eyes up at the policeman as the sun blinded him.

"The name on this registration doesn't match your license," the officer informed him. "Please step out of the car."

"It's my uncle's car. He just loaned it to me and my friends for the day," Will lied.

"Even so, I'm gonna have to ask you to get out of the vehicle," the policeman said. He put his hand on the handle of his pistol and looked Will in the eyes.

Will nodded and unlocked the doors. He turned to Jay with a stern look then grabbed the handle on the door. Opening the door up, he slammed it into the side of the policeman, forcing him to shoot headfirst through the car window. As the policeman's upper body flew into the car, Will grabbed his hands and locked them together. The policeman tried to wriggle away, but Will punched the side of his head hard into the center of the steering wheel. The car let out a loud, irritating honk as the officer in the squad car opened his door. Before he could even reach for his pistol, Will threw the driver side door open and stepped outside. Swiftly, he raised the USP in his holster up at the police officer creeping up from behind. Caught off guard, the young policeman raised his arms up in surrender.

"Please, don't shoot," the policeman muttered.

"Get on the ground," Will ordered. The policeman looked at him with a wondrous look, but obeyed anyways. As he laid facedown on the road, Will hurried back into the Taurus. Shifting back to Drive, he sped away from the squad car as fast as possible.

-Manhattan, NY-

Allison stood at a waiting platform at Grand Central Terminal awaiting a train. The color in her beautiful face was drained and she looked ghastly and morose as she waited for the oncoming train. She wore a tan tank top under a black track jacket and blue jeans. Slung over her shoulder was her trusty black backpack, which held several of her belongings. In her hand was a train ticket heading to New Haven, Connecticut. There were hundreds of other people waiting alongside Allison. Sitting behind her on a bench was a mother and father and their son who was playing with a toy airplane. To her left was a man in a business suit with a large bag sitting at his feet. Allison listened to the trains skidding by along the rails as she waited for the New Haven Line.

Checking the time on her black wristwatch, Allison's eye was caught by the TV attached to one of the pillars on the concourse. She looked over at it to see the news flashing up photos of Will, Jay, and Tyler. Looking away from the TV, Allison heard a man announcing something over the intercom.

"New Haven Line now arriving at Lower Concourse. New Haven Line now arriving at Lower Concourse," the man sang.

Turning to look at the train arriving near the platform, Allison headed over towards it. The train came to a stop right in front of her and the door slid open with a whooshing sound. Allison stepped into the train and found somewhere to sit. The family that was behind her at the concourse passed by her on their way to the back of the train. Allison smiled up at them as they passed by her. Sighing, she sat back and rested the back of her head against the headrest.

As she quietly sat in her seat, her mind continuously drifted back to the image of Jack lying in his casket. It took all of her strength to stop her from crying once again. Allison took one deep breath and closed her eyes as she felt someone take the seat next to her.

"Scared of riding the train?" the old man asked, smiling at her.

Allison chuckled and smiled back at the kind, old man. "Sort of," she said.

"Trust me," the man started, "it gets easier."

Allison furrowed her brow in confusion at the man. She asked, "What do you mean?"

"The train – the first time it gets movin' is the scariest," he replied, chuckling at himself. Shaking his head, he continued, "The rest of the ride's nothin'."

Allison nodded and smiled at the man as she lay her head back against the soft cushion. Two minutes later, the train started to move again. Allison listened to the rolling, rumbling sound of the train's wheel riding the rails. The grinding sound filled her ears as the train chugged through a black tunnel on its way to New Haven.

-Washington, DC-

The Freed estate was a large, rambling piece of land with an entrenched garden and a giant pool to one side. The massive lawn spanned from the front of the mansion all the way to the gated entrance. A path was carved into the ground, dividing the lawn up into two. In front of the mansion was a stone fountain of several angels spurting out water. The front door of the mansion was made of oak and carved into with beautiful designs. The white paint looked new and the windows were clearer than crystals. Pristine white drapes covered the windows, preventing the bright sun from shining in.

Inside one of the rooms of the house, the old, blonde woman stood at the doorway. Across from her, standing in the corner looking out the window was a tall, well-dressed man. His face was shrouded in the shadows of the corner as he turned to the blonde woman. He was wearing a solid black suit with a shiny red tie. There were gold cufflinks around the cuffs of his jacket.

"How are you, Rosalind?" the man asked.

"I'm okay," the woman, Rosalind, answered.

"No more hospital visits I hope," the man said.

"None at all. I'm in fine health now."

"Let's hope it stays that way," the man sighed as he turned back to the curtained window. "How is it going with Burchell, Fog, and Traveler? I hear they're on their way to New Haven."

"Yes, I've sent my man on it. He's taking Carlton Fog's son and heading straight to New Haven," Rosalind replied.

Nodding, the man asked, "You know what's in New Haven, right?"

"Of course I do," Rosalind answered. "Don't worry. Whaley and Fog will do their job. The journal will remain untouched."

The man sighed and tapped his fingers against the window frame. "Like I said before, we should have just had the place razed. We should have destroyed everything."

"We didn't think they'd find it. You know what that means, don't you?"

"Someone's turned," the man cryptically replied. "Do you know who it was?"

Rosalind shook her head and said, "It could be anyone. We've been split off for so long, I've forgotten who's on which side." She chuckled a little and shook her head again.

"If they get their hands on the journal, everything must be destroyed," the man warned.

"That's not your call to make," Rosalind retorted. "I am the one behind the wheel here. Or have you forgotten that?"

The man shook his head and replied, "No, I haven't forgotten."

"I think it's time you made your exit," Rosalind suggested. She held the door open for the man and added, "I have other, more important business to attend to."

The man in the corner nodded and headed for the door as Rosalind stood at the doorway with a cold expression on his face.

-Somewhere in Pennsylvania-

"We need to start being more careful," Jay warned his friends. "Just 'cause we're trying to get to New Haven as fast as possible doesn't mean we have to speed through every street and highway."

"I said I was sorry alright?" Will replied. "I made a mistake. What else do you want from me?"

"I don't know, Will, maybe to be more cautious next time. A strike on our records isn't the only thing at stake now," Jay told him.

"I know that!" Will retorted as he snapped his head at Jay.

In the backseat, Tyler nervously stared out the back window. Gulping, he said, "Maybe we should start taking some back roads. There's less cops around there."

"Yeah but it'll take longer," Will said. "Besides, there aren't any other cars around. We have the entire highway to ourselves."

"Still, I'd feel much safer taking the back roads."

"It's too late for that now," Will replied. Motioning his head back towards the map in the backseat next to Tyler, he continued, "Look at the map, there aren't any entrances to back roads for miles. We're stuck on this highway and the rest till we reach Jersey."

Tyler sighed and muttered, "Fine. Can we just hurry at least?"

-New Haven, CT-

The Art Gallery at Yale University was a gigantic gallery committed to all forms of art, from sculptures to paintings. It was divided into four different buildings. The north gallery was devoted specifically to John Trumbull, the great American painter who painted the Declaration of Independence. Many of his works were on display here. The one that stood out the most was a copy of the Declaration of Independence that was pinned to a stone wall with an engraving on a gold plaque underneath it.

The exterior of the Art Gallery was surrounded by sidewalks and a small park off to the side where a few people sat. The entrance to the building consisted of a glass wall with automatic sliding doors that led in and out of the Art Gallery. Parked outside the entrance were several cars, many of them belonging to the FBI. Standing right outside the gallery's entrance was a group of six FBI agents scouting the area for Burchell, Fog, and Traveler.

Across the street, sitting inside a white sedan with tinted windows was Jan Marlow. She was dressed in a blue shirt with a brown jacket over it. She also sported a dark brown hat and kept her hair tied back into a ponytail. Her eyes stared outside the window at the entrance of the Art Gallery. There were already dozens of FBI agents standing around the area. Surely, she'd need to be smart and lucky to find a way inside the Gallery without notifying the agents of her presence. With a determined look on her face, Marlow patiently stared out the tinted window.

-----

Across campus, Agent Rex carried an old, bound document over to one of the metal tables in the back of the library. There was another male agent sitting on the other side of the table with a stack of papers in front of him. Rex dropped the large book on the table and wiped the dust from her hands.

"What is that?!" the agent asked with wide eyes.

"It's a collection of documents dating back to when the Art Gallery was first built," Rex answered, smiling victoriously. "Everything about the Gallery is in these pages."

"Good luck finding anything in there," her fellow agent replied with a shrug. He picked up a couple pieces of paper put together with a staple. He flipped to the second page and set it down in front of him to read.

"Just wait," Rex said. She flipped open the large cover and sighed elatedly. "We'll find something."

-----

Chambers sat at a lone bench on Yale's campus. With the phone to his ear, he listened to the person on the other end. There was an exhausted, almost frightened expression on his face as he listened to the person talk.

"We're going to need to have a talk with Allison, Chambers," the woman on the other end said.

"I told you I'd handle it!" Chambers replied impatiently.

"You haven't handled anything! We know she's still alive! She knows something is up, Chambers!"

"No. No, she doesn't," Chambers retorted. "I'm telling you, she hasn't found anything out."

"She knows who Traveler is. That's enough to permit her termination," the woman replied angrily.

"Please, just let me talk to her. I promise you, I will get her to drop it."

"You've made promises before Chambers," the woman said. "I don't remember them being kept."

"Please, I will find out what she has and I'll take care of it," Chambers pleaded. "Please, just let me do this. I can't let her get hurt."

"Then you should have been watching over her from the very beginning," the woman taunted. Sternly, she added, "Chambers, I know you love her. Don't let the same thing that happened to your wife happen to her."

It looked as if Chambers stopped breathing for a moment. He sat silently holding the phone. The woman on the other line called his name a few times, but he didn't answer.

"We're going to have to take care of your wife," he heard a man say to him.

"What?! What happened?"

"She knows what's going on, Chambers," the man said. Flashes of a beautiful, brown-haired woman appeared in Chambers' head. He tried to shake them out, but he kept hearing the man's voice. "We'll call you when it's done."

"No," he could hear himself begging. "Wait! No!"

"Either we can do it or you can," the man whispered. "Make your choice."

-Palestine – Fifteen Years Ago-

Dressed in camo fatigues, Chambers stood in a lone hallway in a Palestinian prison. The glassless windows on the right side of the hallway permitted streaks of sunlight to pervade the shadowy hallway. The two men's shadows were pasted against the stained, yellow, tiled floor. There was no one else there save for the man standing before him. Chambers wore a fearful look on his face as he grabbed at his jaw with his coarse fingers.

Nodding, he gulped and stuttered, "I-I'll do it. I'll take care of it…"

The man before him nodded and handed him a gun using a white handkerchief to hold it. "Dispose of it once you're finished. I'll have you sent back home tomorrow to do the job."

Chambers nodded back and grabbed the gun. The man patted him on the back and headed down the other end of the hallway. Breathing heavily, Chambers stared down at the gun in his hand and leaned against the stone cold wall of the prison. Gulping, he shoved the gun into one of his holsters and wiped the tears coming down his eyes before turning around and stomping down the other end of the hallway.

-----

"Chambers! Are you there?!" the woman screamed.

Snapping out of his trance, Chambers looked around and wheezed, "Yes. I'm here."

"So, what do you want to do then?" the woman asked. "It's up to you?"

Gaping down at the ground, Chambers nodded and said, "I'll do it. I'll do it."

"Understood. Call back when it's done."

Chambers hung up the phone and stuck it back into his pocket. Sighing exhaustedly, he hung his head back and looked up at the bright, blue sky. A lone bird swam through the sea of clouds as Chambers turned his head at the sound of footsteps approaching.

"Sir, I think we might have something else on the boys," an agent notified him.

Chambers quickly jumped to his feet and asked, "What is it?"

"Around the same time the Polshek building was broken into, a man reported his car being stolen. A green Ford Taurus, license plate: APG-649," the agent read off. In his hand was a scrap of paper with the license plate number scribbled messily onto it.

"Have the other agents been notified?" Chambers asked.

"No, not yet, sir."

"Notify all the agents and the police," Chambers instructed. "Have them put out an APB on that vehicle! If it even comes near this city, stop it!"

-----

"Welcome to New Haven," Tyler muttered as the green Taurus passed by the welcome sign of the city. They'd been driving for quite some time now. They switched positions several miles back; Tyler now drove while Will sat in the back.

The boys were driving down a crowded highway. All three friends turned and looked at the New Haven sign they had been greeted by years ago. A faint smile appeared on their faces as they returned home. Tyler switched lanes to get closer to the exit as the view of the familiar city skyline got clearer and clearer.

-New Haven, CT – Two Years Ago-

The rumble of the grinding train tracks underneath his feet kept Will Traveler wide awake. He sat with his shoulder leaned up against the window to his right as he watched the scenery pass by. Wearing a black jacket, Chicago Cubs shirt, and blue jeans, Will sat idly watching the digital clock down the aisle flicker every now and then. The small foursome of seats he sat in was unoccupied save for his own. The window to his right displayed the cozy countryside of Connecticut changing into a vast metropolis of various structures and shapes. Will's eyes gazed up at the tall buildings speeding passed him.

Suddenly, he felt a buzzing in his pant pocket. Reaching into it, he pulled out a black cellphone and held it up to his ear. "Hello?" he said.

"How are things going…Will?" a familiar voice asked.

"Everything's fine, Jacob. You don't need to check on me every hour," Will replied, seemingly annoyed.

"I'm just looking out for you, Will," Jacob excused himself. "Are you at the house yet?"

"No, not yet. I'm still on the train. There was a mechanical problem. We had to take a short stop an hour ago," Will answered. Looking back out the window, he added, "We're in New Haven now, though."

"Good. Good. You remember the plan, right?"

"Of course I do," Will replied as if it was absurd he'd forget the plan. The train passed under a bridge, encompassing the cabins with darkness. Will closed his eyes and recited robotically, "Break into their circle of trust, get some videos of 'em, and get out."

"Precisely," Jacob said with an air of pride and satisfaction. He paused for a second then changed into a stern, gruff tone. "Will, just a warning: don't get too close to these guys. You're just going to get hurt."

"I know better than that, Jacob," Will sighed, shaking his head.

"I'm just making sure. After that fiasco in D.C. – "

"That was different!" Will said angrily. He popped up from his laid-back position in the seat and stared at the empty seat before him.

"I know, Will. I know. I'm just looking out for you."

"Whatever," Will retorted. Leaning back into his seat, he continued, "They won't be a problem, trust me. I won't let things get personal. Not again."

-----

Agent Mills rode shotgun inside a black SUV driving down the narrow street. There were two squad cars with them; one up front and one behind. They both had their sirens whirring as they shot through the street. As Mills stared out the window, he heard a beeping inside his pocket.

"Agent Mills," he recited.

"Agent Mills, this is an update from base. We have new information regarding the suspects," a man said.

"Alright. Out with it," Mills impatiently demanded.

"We believe they have stolen a green Ford Taurus, license plate: APG-649."

"APG-649. I got it. Have the police been notified?" Mills asked.

"Yes, sir."

"Alright. I'll see you later, base," Mills said before hanging up the cellphone. Turning to the man driving the SUV, he told him, "They're traveling in a green Ford Taurus, license plate: APG-649. That shouldn't be too hard to find, would it?"

"Don't think so," the agent replied, shaking his head.

Suddenly, a Taurus matching the description drove by. Stunned, Mills turned around quickly and stared at the license plate of the car. It read: GFU-109. Shaking his head, he chuckled to himself and sunk back into the passenger seat.

-----

Union Station was a bustling railroad station with many passengers waiting to board trains. The platforms were crowded with people standing around either waiting for trains or searching for busses or taxis to hitch rides in. Standing by herself on one of the platforms was Allison. She stuffed her left hand into the pocket of her white jean jacket and stuck her right hand out to call for a taxi cab. A yellow cab drove by less than thirty seconds later and came to a stop in front of her.

She quickly ran up to the side of the taxi and opened the back passenger door as the driver stepped out of the car. He smiled at her and offered to take her backpack, but she shook her head at him. Nodding back at her, the driver got back into his cab. Allison stepped inside the cab and strapped her seatbelt on.

"Where to, Miss?" the driver asked with a hospitable smile.

"Yale Art Gallery, please," Allison instructed. The driver nodded and turned his turn signal on as he reentered traffic.

In the back seat, Allison anxiously bit her lower lip as she looked at the sweeping buildings surrounding her. Sighing, she laid her head back against the seat and closed her eyes.

-Staten Island, NY – Fifteen Years Ago-

The pouring rain pelted the top of Allison's head as she stood in the middle of a large, grassy field at a cemetery. There were dozens of people dressed in black surrounding her, but several of them were already on the move. Some brushed passed her unknowingly while others stopped to console and hug her. Dressed in a black dress, Allison stared at the tombstone before her. She was only eleven, but the concept of death wasn't new to her. She'd known about death since she was a little girl; she was always curious and liked knowing things after all. However, she'd never experienced it before. Her tiny body trembled as she stared at the unsightly beautiful tombstone.

As her tears mixed with rain, she felt a comforting hand grasp her delicate shoulder. Sniffing and looking up, she felt the rain stop and saw her father holding an umbrella up to him. He looked so handsome in his nice black suit even though he had a sorrowful and serious look on his face. Managing to smile, Chambers held Allison close to him and rubbed her right shoulder.

"Why did Mommy have to die, Daddy?" Allison meekly wondered.

Chambers stared at the tombstone of his deceased wife and held back the tears. With shaking lips, he looked back down at Allison and said, "God needed someone to keep him company."

"But why couldn't he take somebody else?"

Chambers shook his head and replied, "I don't know, honey. It's just the way it is."

Allison sniffed again and slowly walked up to her mother's grave. She put her hand on top of it and caressed the carved name. "I miss her," she mumbled.

Walking up to his daughter, Chambers held his hand up to his mouth, but removed it to say, "I do too."

The anguished look on Chambers' face changed into a surprised one as Allison turned and hugged him tightly around his waist. She brushed her wet face against his jacket and held on firmly. Chambers looked up at the black fabric of his umbrella and put his hand on the back of Allison's head. A tear slowly streamed out his eye and ran down the side of his face.

"I love you, honey," Chambers grunted.

"I love you too, Daddy."

-----

As the yellow taxi cab came to a stop in front of a red light, Allison looked down at the black backpack on her lap. Placing a shaking hand on top of it, she pursed her lips and bit her teeth together as the car started moving again a second later.

-----

The road was beginning to narrow as less and less cars drove up around them. Tyler moved to the side of the road and parked the car beside a thicket of trees and bushes. Turning off the car's headlights, he unlocked all doors and stepped outside. Jay stretched his legs out as he stepped out the car. Behind him, Will slammed the door close and looked around. There appeared to be no cars or people around. Looking up, he noticed the sun was starting to set.

"We go through here and move straight," Jay said, pointing through the woods. "We'll hit the steam pipes in about ten minutes."

"Alright," Will sighed, "Let's move."

The three boys took one last glance around them before darting into the thick woods in front of them. Pushing aside a large tree branch, Jay weaved around it as Will ducked underneath it. Tyler followed the two down a small hump in the ground and around several thick trees. Within ten minutes, they reached the steam pipes Jay had accustomed himself with during his stay at Yale.

Will and Tyler stood over the grating leading down into the tunnels as Jay bent over with an army knife Will had handed him. He popped open the grating and lifted it up from the ground. Grabbing onto the sides, Jay jumped down into the tunnels with Will and Tyler right behind him.

"So how did you find this place exactly?" Will asked as he looked around the tunnels.

"Studying," Jay replied complacently.

"Studying?" Will repeated. He turned the corner along with Jay and Tyler and muttered, "You sure didn't want to fail that class."

Jay chuckled at Will and shook his head. He led his two friends down a narrower tunnel and ended up at an intersection. Pointing down one tunnel, he noted, "That way leads to the library."

"Art Gallery's to the east," Tyler informed him.

"So we go this way," Jay said, pointing down the right tunnel.

As the three boys stalked through the dim tunnels, streams of steam shot out at them, clouding their faces. The boys covered their mouths and squinted their eyes as they rushed through the tunnels and turned the corner.

"That never happened," Jay coughed as he walked down the next tunnel.

"How far away is the gallery from here?" Tyler asked.

"Not sure," Will replied. "Used to take me about ten-twelve minutes when I crossed campus. But we gotta move around these tunnels so it might take a while longer."

"And we have to make sure we don't get lost either," Jay interjected. "I'm not exactly a mouse, y'know."

The three boys reached another four-way intersection and looked down their three options. "Which way?" Jay asked.

"I say we go straight," Tyler answered.

"Yeah," Will replied. "We don't wanna risk going down either of the other tunnels. They might not turn towards the gallery."

"Alright," Jay shrugged as he led his friends into the next tunnel.

-----

"Are you sure this is it?" Tyler asked as he leaned over Jay's shoulder to look at the blueprint.

Jay pointed his finger at one point of the blueprint and followed the steam pipes drawn on it. He then pointed up at the pipes in the corner and turned to Tyler. "They look the same to me."

"All these pipes look the same," Tyler grumbled. He walked over to the pipes lined up against the wall and examined them.

"No, look," Jay said as he followed Tyler. He pointed at the second set of pipes along the wall behind the front set. The second set of pipes led up to the ceiling. "This is it. It looks just like the blueprint."

"Let's just keep moving," Will said, grabbing his two friends. "If we get lost, we'll just retrace our steps."

Jay nodded in agreement and stared down at the blueprint in his hands. Tracing the pipes with his finger, he walked down a tunnel and weaved around the corner. Suddenly, he stopped in the middle of an intersection and looked around.

"Hold on," he muttered. Looking back down at the blueprint, he added, "I think we made a wrong turn somewhere. This intersection's not supposed to be here."

"You sure?" Tyler asked as he took the blueprint from Jay. Nodding, he sighed, "Great. Let's go back."

Jay and Tyler started to turn back, but Will grabbed the two by the collars of their jackets. Tyler opened his mouth to say something, but Will clasped his hand around Tyler's mouth. Placing a finger to his lips, he signaled for his friends to be quiet. Then, slowly and carefully, he started back towards the other end of the tunnel.

"What is it?" Jay whispered.

"I heard something," Will replied. "I think there's someone down here."

"It's probably just the steam in the pipes," Jay said, turning back.

Suddenly, the sound of clamoring footsteps resonated throughout the maze of tunnels. Tyler jumped up in surprise and turned around to see if someone was there. Will sternly pushed his index finger up to his pursed lips and led Jay and Tyler back down the tunnel. Quietly, they hastily retreated into another tunnel. Placing their backs against the wall, the three boys listened for the footsteps again. It was still coming.

"We're gonna get lost if we just run around here," Tyler warned his friends.

"What do you suggest we do then, huh?" Jay retorted.

"Be quiet!" Will ordered as he craned his neck out the wall to look. Though he didn't see the person, he saw a shadow moving closer down the tunnel. Turning to Jay and Tyler, he motioned for them to remain silent and instructed, "Stay back."

"What are you – " Jay started.

"Just stay back!"

Jay and Tyler crept back down the other end of the tunnel as Will fell into a crouching position. His eyes aimed down at the moving shadow along the cement floor, he readied himself to pounce. At the end of the tunnel, Jay and Tyler's eyes widened as they saw a man in a blue janitor's outfit walk by. He turned his head to see Will in front of him. Before he could do anything, though, Will reached up with his arm and hooked his left arm around the man's armpit. Pulling the janitor closer to him, Will slammed his elbow into his side and backhanded him across the face. The janitor stumbled towards the wall, but didn't fall. However, Will grabbed him from behind and placed him in a headlock. Squeezing tighter and tighter, he began to put the man to sleep. Seconds later, the janitor's head fell and rested against Will's forearm. Will let his neck go and dragged him down the tunnel.

"Alright," he said. "Let's get back to work."

-----

A police checkpoint was set up near the road Will, Jay, and Tyler had been driving on. There were two squad cars sitting on either side of the road with their sirens blaring. Cones were lined up in front of them leading up the road. Two of the policemen stood outside their vehicles while their partners sat inside ready to back them up. A silver car drove up to one of the policemen. The officer walked over to the driver side and greeted the man.

Standing on the side of the road, Agent Mills watched impatiently as the policeman waved the silver car through. Crossing his arms over his chest, he gave off a bored sigh and looked up at the darkening sigh. Suddenly, he heard a buzzing at his waist. Grabbing at the walkie-talkie attached to his belt, he brought it up to his lips.

"This is Mills. What's going on?" he asked.

"We've got something, sir," an agent answered. "Green Ford Taurus, license plate: APG-649. It's been abandoned and left on the side of the road."

Mills eyes brightened with excitement and he straightened up his posture. "Where are you?"

"Just down the road from where you are, Highway 49."

"I'll be with you soon. Wait there!"

-----

The Lexus Gabriel drove was parked in the middle of an alley a few blocks away from Yale's campus. The doors were all locked, but the trunk was propped open. Standing beside it were Gabriel and Whaley, loading up their weapons. Whaley looked around guardedly as he stuck a new magazine into his Glock 18. Cocking the gun, he stuck it into the holster attached to his waist. Reaching into the trunk once more, he pulled out a small Walther PPK and tested its aiming sights. Everything seemed to be in line with the gun; Whaley shoved it into the ankle holster he wore.

Behind Whaley, Gabriel watched him observantly as he loaded up his own weapon, a silver Colt M1911. He suspiciously watched Whaley as the blonde-haired man finished gearing up. Gabriel's time in the military certainly taught him to be a team player, but there was something about Whaley that made Gabriel uneasy. He hid the holster of his gun with the end of his shirt and adjusted his jacket collar as Whaley slammed the trunk closed.

"A lot of people are gonna die here today," Whaley warned Gabriel. He stared at Gabriel with emotionless, menacing eyes. "You better be ready 'cause I'm not carrying your ass."

"Don't worry about me," Gabriel told his so-called partner. Glaring into Whaley's eyes, he added, "I'll get the job done."

-----

Leaning over the large book on the table, Agent Rex persistently searched through the documents bound inside for any answers or clues. Her index finger ran in a straight line across the top of a page then down to the next line. The agent across from her watched, smiling uncontrollable as he watched her combed through the large book of articles and documents. She'd been at it for over an hour and she still had nothing; she wasn't even a quarter of the way through the book.

"I think it's time to give up, Nicky," the agent told her.

"I'm not the kind of girl to quit just like that, Howie," Rex replied as she moved her finger down the page a little bit more.

"I don't think we're gonna find anything here," the agent said. Lifting up some of the pieces of paper in front of him, he said, "Nothing here checks out with the boys' info. It just doesn't make sense."

"There has to be something that checks out!" Rex shouted. "Why else would they be coming here?"

"I don't know," the agent replied. "A diversion maybe?" he guessed.

"No way! They wouldn't risk getting caught at that architecture firm for a stupid diversion," Rex said. "They're smarter than that."

"Then what do you suppose they're here for, eh?"

Agent Rex didn't answer; she kept her eyes fixated on the words scribbled across the old pages before her. Gradually, her eyes got bigger and a smile formed across her face. The agent across the table furrowed his brow at her.

"What? You find something?" he asked in his gruff voice.

"You ever hear of John Trumbull?" Rex questioned. The agent shook his head. "He was interred here after his death in 1843."

"What's that got to do with us?"

"Three months ago, our guys checked the Drexler for any missing paintings. There was only one painting out of the hundreds that were on display there that went unaccounted for," Rex informed her fellow agent. A bewildered look began to show on his face. "Guess whose painting that was?"

-----

"Agent Rex," she said into her phone.

"Rex, it's Mills. I think we got something good," Mills told her. "My men found the boys' car. It's been abandoned near campus."

"What?!" Rex shouted.

"They're here, Rex," Mills alarmed.

An excited smile crossed Rex's face as she turned to the agent still at the table. Turning back to Mills, she said, "I got something too."

"What is it?" Mills wanted to know.

"I think they're here for something in the Trumbull gallery," Rex said. "Remember how that painting went missing at the Drexler? Well, the guy who painted it has a section of the gallery dedicated all to himself. How much you wanna bet Traveler, Burchell, and Fog are on their way there right now?"

Mills chuckled at his partner and asked, "Did you notify Chambers yet?"

"Yeah, I just did. Everyone's being called back to the Art Gallery," Rex replied.

"Woo hoo! We're gonna get 'em!" Mills cheered. Chuckling, he added, "I'll see you there, Rex."

"Bye, Mills."

Rex hung up her cellphone and stuck it in her pocket. Reaching for the black FBI jacket she placed over the chair, she nodded at the agent paired with her and said, "C'mon, time to get back to base."

-----

A large, square grating embedded into the wall stared back at Will, Jay, and Tyler. With the blueprint in his hand, Jay traced a line across it and nodded with a smile. Turning to his friends, he rejoiced, "This is it!"

"Alright. Let's get it open," Will said as he reached for the army knife stuck in his back pocket. Stabbing the dark, heavy blade into the side of the grating, he pressed one hand against the wall and pulled at the grating with his blade. The grating started to move along with the sound of screws loosening. Will reached down for the bottom right corner and did the same thing. Soon, the grating was loosened from the wall.

Will wrenched the grating out of the hole and set it against the wall. Bending down, he looked into the vent they'd opened up. It didn't look particularly long, but the space was scarce. Crouching, Will hobbled into the vent and wormed his way down it with Jay and Tyler behind him.

"You're sure this is the right one?" Tyler asked uncomfortably.

"I'm pretty certain," Jay replied.

"Good, 'cause it's gonna be hell getting out of here if this isn't it," Tyler grumbled.

Jay chuckled in response, but Will struggled to look at them and put a finger to his lips. "We gotta be quiet. We don't know what's on either side of us."

Jay and Tyler nodded back as they followed Will down the vent. Will made a right turn then a left and headed straight across the vent. Fairly soon, they'd reached the grating leading into the Trumbull gallery. Peering through the small grating in the wall, Will wanted to make sure there were no guards awaiting them outside. Using his army knife, Will started to loosen the grating from this wall like the last one. Less than twenty seconds later, he managed to grab the grating and pull it out. Setting it down flat on the ground, he pushed it out as he made his way out the vent.

Crawling out of the vent, Will, Jay, and Tyler stretched their legs and stood around the Trumbull gallery. Surrounded on all sides by works of art made by John Trumbull, the three boys searched for the marker signifying the crypt's location. Pointing at the far wall, Jay walked up to an engraved copy of the Declaration of Independence painting. Underneath it was a gold plaque with words scribed into it.

"It's under here," Jay said, breathing heavily as he stared up at the engraving.

Will smirked at him and walked up to the engraved painting. He touched it and asked, "Well, how do we get into the crypt?"

"It's right here," Jay said as he bent down.

Crouched on one knee, he felt the exquisite carvings on the ground in front of the gold plaque. There was a latch inside the center carving. It was old and rusted as if no one had touched it in forever. Jay grabbed it and lifted it up. However, he stopped as soon as he heard someone's footsteps nearing him. From behind, he felt Will grab him by the shoulder and drag him and Tyler into a corner behind a large pedestal.

"You two stay here and get into that crypt. I'm gonna distract them," Will told them in a hushed voice.

"No way!" Jay retorted. "There's gonna be a hell of a lot of 'em out there. We can't let you get caught!"

"I can't let all of us get caught," Will replied, staring Jay determinedly in the eyes. He handed the army knife to Jay and continued, "At least if I get caught, you two still have a chance. Things get too hot, just get back into the vents. I promise I'll be back."

Without looking back to see if his friends even agreed with him, Will crept up to the entryway of the gallery. An FBI agent passed by the gallery as Will silently stalked around him. Suddenly, he started running down the hallway, alerting the agent. The man spotted Will and quickly took off after him.

"I've spotted Traveler. I am in pursuit!" the agent shouted into his walkie-talkie.

Back inside the gallery, Jay and Tyler moved away from their hiding spot and crept up to the latch. Jay picked the latch back up and pulled it on as strong as he could. Unfortunately, the hatch to the crypt wouldn't budge. Jay tried again and again, but stopped and dropped the latch back onto the floor. Looking around the hatch, he realized there was a keyhole at the bottom. Pulling out Will's army knife, he dug it into the hole and jiggled it around a little. A few seconds later, he felt something in the hatch loosen up. Smiling to Tyler, Jay pulled on the latch, lifting the hatch open.

-----

"I've got Traveler in the northwest section of the Art Gallery. I am in pursuit! I need backup!" an FBI agent called into his walkie-talkie.

Grasping the walkie-talkie in his hands, the agent raced after Will down a hallway. Will turned into a room and hopped over a velvet rope wrapped around a section of the gallery. He sped across the room, but stopped as he saw someone's shadow coming near the entrance across the floor. Quietly striding over to the other end of the room, Will placed his back against the wall and looked down at the shiny, white floor. The shadow was getting closer. Looking forward, Will saw an old, Victorian-style vase sitting atop a white pedestal. Placing his hands on the sides of the pedestal, he pushed it over, toppling the vase to the ground.

The vase shattered as it fell on the floor, alarming the agent on the other side of the wall. He popped out of his hiding spot, his gun trained forward. To his left, Will lunged at his arm and grabbed it. Locking the agent's left arm between his ribcage and forearm, Will pulled the agent closer to him. He threw a punch at the agent's face twice and squeezed his arm tighter around his forearm. The pain in his arm caused the agent to drop the gun. As soon as he did, Will grabbed him by the neck and slammed the back of his head against the wall. Letting go of him, Will kicked him in the gut and tossed him to the ground.

At the other end of the room, the other FBI agent in pursuit of Will appeared. He brought his gun up and aimed it at Will's head. He fired once, but missed; the bullet sped passed Will's face and embedded itself into the wall behind him. Charging straight at him, the agent kept his hands on his gun. As he got closer, though, Will picked up a piece of the shattered vase and swung it at the agent. He cut open both the agent's hands then kicked him forward. The agent fell back onto another pedestal housing an old, ornamental vase. Before he could collect himself, Will grabbed him by the collar of his jacket and thrust his elbow three times into the agent's face. The agent spat out blood as Will put him in a headlock and drove his knee over and over again into the agent's gut. Soon, the agent was knocked out and Will dropped his limp body onto the floor.

Will stood over the agent's body and reached down to pick up his walkie-talkie. As he unstrapped the walkie-talkie from the agent's belt, he heard a gunshot ring across the room. Turning to his right, he saw another agent firing at him from the other entrance. Hurriedly, he took the walkie-talkie and ran out of the gallery as the agent fired upon him again.

Biting his teeth together, the agent ran over to his two fellow agents who lay on the ground. He checked their pulses then grabbed his walkie-talkie out of the back of his belt. "Traveler took down Levy and Chase. He's heading down the northwest hallway to the west section."

-----

The security room of the Art Gallery was a medium-sized room with several monitors and two computers. There was a table set against the wall to one side of the room with chairs set around them. In the center of the room was a circle of monitors lined with chairs. Displayed on the monitors were security cameras feeds from all around the Yale Art Gallery.

Standing in the center of this circle was Chambers who had an agitated look on his face. "Alright, people. Traveler has been spotted in the northwest section of the building heading west. Our cameras spotted Burchell and Fog in the Trumbull gallery. Mills, I want you to take your men and pursue Traveler. Rex, you're coming with me! We're goin' after Burchell and Fog. Everyone clear?"

With that, nearly everyone inside the security room dispersed. Only a handful of FBI agents and security guards were left standing inside the room.

-----

Keeping the hatch propped open, Jay watched as Tyler grabbed the edges of the floor and dropped down into the tomb. He heard Tyler's feet land on the ground underneath and glanced around him. Once he was sure no one was near, he grabbed the edges of the floor as well with one hand and brought the hatch down with the other. The sound of his feet dropping to the floor below echoed throughout the capacious chamber.

Behind Jay, Tyler reached into his backpack for a flashlight and turned it on. Swinging it around the chamber, Tyler noticed all the cobwebs and dust around them. He covered his mouth with one hand and walked back over to where Jay was.

"Who do you think the last person that was down here was?" Tyler asked jokingly.

Jay chuckled and replied, "Doesn't matter as long as they didn't get what we came here for."

Tyler moved the flashlight across the dirty floor and brought it up to a gigantic tombstone embedded into the wall. Strolling over to it, he discovered the tombstone was inscribed with words. At the bottom was the phrase, "To his Country, he gave his SWORD and his PENCIL."

"This is it," Jay gasped as he read the bottom inscription.

Tyler flashed the light down onto the floor and sighed, "So, what are we looking for?"

Jay shrugged at his friend and said, "I don't know. The Baron just said the answers we need would be here."

Nodding, Tyler got closer to the wall and touched it with his hand. Glass was placed in front of a stone shelf built right into the wall on either side of the inscription. Dust stuck to Tyler's fingers as he pulled his hand away. Wiping the dust off on his pants, Tyler flashed the light on the spot he'd wiped off and turned to Jay. "It looks like a pharaoh's tomb; all Trumbull's stuff is here. Photographs, medals, pens, paintbrushes, scrolls, notebooks, everything."

"You think one of the things in there has the answers?" Jay wondered.

"Won't know till we try," Tyler replied.

Pulling the pistol out of his pants, Jay flipped it around in his hand and slammed its butt against the glass case.

-----

Will crouched underneath a large set of stairs inside a blank hallway. He heard the sound of footsteps around him and suspiciously looked around. The walkie-talkie in his hand suddenly burst to life with the voice of a man.

"The east section is clear. He's not here," the man on the radio stated.

Tucking the walkie-talkie into his pants, Will looked out from under the stairwell and hurried down the hallway. Suddenly, he stopped and put his back up against the white wall as he heard the clamor of shoes coming towards him. Looking at the shiny floor, he waited for a shadow to appear.

"Hey!" someone shouted from behind.

Alarmed, Will spun around to see two FBI agents running towards him. With no other choice, he raced down the hallway, alerting the two men behind the other wall of his presence. The four agents hurried after Will as he turned into a room and ran across the floor. Hopping over a short, white bench, he ran out of the room and into another long hallway. As he sped down the hallway, he was tackled into the wall.

Mills appeared out of nowhere and rammed his shoulder into Will who was thrown against the wall. Disoriented for a while, Will looked around in confusion as Mills picked him up by his collar and grabbed his left arm. He tried to twist Will's arm behind his back, but Will ferociously fought back. He elbowed Mills in the forehead with his other arm, forcing him to release his left one. Mills regained balance and lunged at Will, but Will sidestepped the attack and hooked Mills right in the gut. Grabbing Mills by his tie, Will pulled his head down and brought his elbow down on the agent's spine. Mills staggered forward, but Will caught him and put him in a headlock. Wrapping his arms around Mills' head and left arm, Will began driving his elbow into Mills side. However, Mills fought back, slamming Will into the wall behind him to make him release Mills' head. Standing back, Mills threw a punch, but Will blocked and chopped Mills across the throat with his right hand. Coughing, Mills stumbled backwards, allowing Will to kick him in the gut. As Mills fell backwards, Will pulled him back up with his tie then drove his fist into Mills' face several times. Blood flew out of Mills' mouth as Will beat him.

Turning to his left, Will realized the four FBI agents were getting close. Holding Mills by his tie and right shoulder, Will threw him into two of the agents coming towards him. Mills flew into them, knocking them both to the ground, as Will turned and ran into another room. The other two agents ignored their downed comrades and raced after Traveler.

Running across the gallery, Will reached the lobby, where a small group of agents spotted him from the upper floor. With two agents on his tail and three agents above, Will looked outside to see four more FBI agents lined up waiting for him. Breathing heavily, he looked around the lobby for a way to escape. Unfortunately, he was cornered. One of the three agents came down the steps with his gun aimed while the other two remained on the stairs and the two in pursuit appeared from behind the corner. Sighing dejectedly, Will raised both hands in the air in surrender.

-----

Pieces of shattered glass were sprawled all across the floor of Trumbull's crypt. Stepping on the cracked glass, Jay and Tyler searched through his possessions to find whatever it was they were looking for. Among the items they pulled out of the glass case were a notebook, several scrolls of paper, pens and pencils, and books. Shaking his head impatiently, Tyler threw a large, heavy book down on the floor and turned to Jay.

"It's going to take forever to sift through all this stuff!" Tyler told him. "Let's just take everything and leave."

"But –"

"Will's already been gone for too long. We need to think of the worse-case scenario here, Jay. They could've gotten Will and they could be on their way right now," Tyler said sternly. "C'mon, we need to go!"

Looking around as if he was waiting for someone to interject, Jay nodded back and replied, "Alright."

He took off his backpack and set it on the floor. Grabbing all the items out of the glass case, Jay and Tyler stuffed their backpacks with Trumbull's belongings and headed off. Tyler turned the flashlight on at the hatch above, allowing Jay to push it open. As Jay grabbed the edges of the hatch, he lifted his body up and sat on the edge of the floor. He nodded down to Tyler and got up out of the hole. Tyler lifted himself out of the crypt as well with Jay's help. As Tyler climbed to his feet, Jay reached over and slammed the hatch closed. Behind him, Tyler hurried over to the vent and began to pull out the grating covering it.

"I've found Burchell and Fog! Northwest section!" someone shouted from behind. Jay and Tyler both spun around in surprise as the agent aimed his weapon at them. "Burchell, Fog, stand down!"

Breathing heavily, Tyler stood up and raised his arms over his head. Jay bit his lower lip and did so as well. Looking at one another, they shook their heads and turned to the barrel of the agent's gun.

-----

"End of the road, Traveler," one of the agents said to him. He put his gun in its holster and reached for the set of handcuffs on his belt. He pulled them out and unhooked them from one another.

Both his arms raised up, Will looked despondently at the approaching agent. While the rest of the FBI agents trained their guns on him, the single agent came at him with handcuffs. The one with the cuffs grabbed him by the shoulder and turned him around in order to cuff him. He hooked the handcuffs tightly around Will's wrists and pulled him closer to him.

"You're coming home," the agent taunted.

Suddenly, the sound of windows breaking echoed throughout the lobby. From outside, a white sedan drove recklessly onto the sidewalk and burst through the entrance. The sedan barreled onwards and skidded across the ground on its side till it slammed into two of the agents carrying their guns. As his fellow agents fell to the floor, the other agent reached for his handgun. His comrades on the stairs aimed down at the white sedan as well, but did not begin firing. Outside, the four agents appeared disoriented as they climbed to their feet.

As he felt the agent let go of his handcuffs, Will immediately kicked his leg backwards, striking the agent in the groin. A loud, pain-staking cry left the agent's mouth as he bended over forward. Immediately, Will spun around and headbutted the agent across the temple. The agent fell to the ground where Will kicked him hard across the face. Turning to the white sedan in front of him, Will noticed Marlow sitting behind the wheel.

He stared at her with much confusion as she opened her door and hopped out of the car. He didn't have much time to process what was happening, though, as the agents at the stairs opened fire on them. Will dove onto the hood of the car and slid down to the other side as a bullet smashed into the windshield. Inside the car, Marlow opened the passenger side door and her own. Will looked at her from the other side of the car as she slid out the driver's side.

Crouching behind the driver's side door, Marlow fired her handgun at the men at the stairs. Turning to Will she shouted, "C'mon, Traveler, we have to go."

All the while, Will stared at her with a bewildered look on his face.

-----

In the back of the Art Gallery were several FBI agents guarding the back exit. At the other end of the alley, a Lexus pulled up and stopped right in front of them. Gabriel and Whaley exited the car and slammed their doors, prompting the agents to turn to them.

One of the agents extended his palm out in front of them and said, "I'm sorry, but you're gonna have to leave the premises. There is an important operation going on here."

"Oh we know," Whaley told him in a mocking manner. "That's why we're here."

Suddenly, he pulled out his gun and opened fire on the agents. Surprised, Gabriel watched as Whaley sprayed bullets out at the five agents in front of him. None of them even had enough time before Gabriel took them down. The agent in front of him fell to the ground and tried to reach for his gun near Whaley's feet.

"Open the door," Whaley instructed Gabriel.

Blinking at Whaley, Gabriel slowly walked away from his side and stood in front of the door. Noticing the agent at his feet, Whaley stared down blankly at him. The agent was still straining to reach his gun. Pointing his gun down at the man, Whaley mercilessly let loose on the trigger.

-----

Will ducked behind Marlow as she fired her weapon on the agents at the stairwell. As he watched one of the two agents go down, Will noticed one of the men Marlow had run over was beginning to awaken. Marlow apparently noticed as well as she fired a bullet into the man's shoulder. Groaning loudly, the agent's head fell back and he lost consciousness. To the right, the four agents at the entranced rose to their feet and began firing.

Turning to Marlow, Will ordered, "Get my cuffs off!"

Marlow pointed her gun at the chain of Will's handcuffs and fired. The cuffs broke in half and Will brought his arms in front of him. Reaching at his belt, he pulled out his USP. Holding the gun close to him, Will looked out through the driver's seat. Aiming his gun out at the men in the entryway, he opened fire. One of the men went down from a shot to his knee. As he collapsed, Will fired another bullet into his chest. Dropping back to take cover, Will listened to the hail of bullets coming at him.

Atop the staircase, the other agent fired again at Marlow, but missed. Two of his bullets hit the front bumper of the sedan while another destroyed the half-open window of the driver's side door.

Pointing her gun over the window, Marlow fired up at the man again. The agent ducked behind the railing, though, as he began to descend down the stairs. Marlow fired at him several more times, but each time, she missed. Forced to reload, she took cover behind the door and reached for another clip. As soon as he heard the gunfire stop, the agent rose to his feet and opened fire.

Startled, Marlow jumped as she pushed the clip into her weapon. Cocking the gun, she waited for the agent to finish firing. Once he did, she popped back up and opened fired. However, he had dropped to the ground again and began reloading.

Behind Marlow, Will crept around the side of the car and aimed his gun over the trunk. The agents outside didn't even notice him as he began firing at them. He took one down with a headshot and shot another one down with a bullet to his chest. The last standing agent fired at Will, but he managed to duck behind the bumper of the car. As the agent stopped to reload, Marlow pointed her gun at his head and fired a bullet. Blood spurted out the other side of his head and his body crashed to the sidewalk.

At the top of the stairwell, the last agent fired down at Marlow and Will. Marlow fired back up at him along with Will. Neither side seemed to get a clean shot at the other, though. Seconds later, Marlow and the agent both stopped to reload. Looking out through the side of the car, Will saw the agent duck behind the railing. Hurriedly, he raced across the room and slid across the floor as the agent finished reloading. At the same time, the agent and Marlow fired upon one another. With the agent distracted, Will crawled along the ground towards the foot of the stairs. Peeking out through the side, he saw the agent hadn't noticed him yet. Crouching at the bottom of the stairwell, he aimed his gun at the agent and fired a bullet into his side. The agent let out an agonized groan and turned his gun to Will. Before he could fire, though, Will shot him in the right shoulder, forcing him to drop the gun.

Standing, Will turned to Marlow who was walking towards him. "We have to go back to Jay and Tyler. The other agents might've found them already."

"Agent Marlow…" someone gasped from the shattered doorway of the Art Gallery.

Alarmed, Will quickly turned and pointed his gun at the voice. Marlow looked over as well; her eyes gaped open as she saw Allison Chambers standing at the doorway. It had been a while since she'd seen Allison. Over six months if she remembered correctly. Will cocked his gun and trained his sights on Allison. Marlow reached over and covered the barrel of his gun, though.

"What are you doing?!" Will demanded to know.

"Put your gun down," Marlow ordered him. Holstering her weapon, she looked at Allison and asked, "Ally, sweetie, what are you doing here?"

-----

The agent at the entryway to the Trumbull gallery trained his gun on Jay and Tyler as they stood still with their hands up. Both boys had distressed expressions on their faces as the agent eased towards them. While he held his 10 mm in one hand, he reached behind his back for his walkie-talkie.

"This is Agent Meckler. I am in the northwest section of the Art Gallery in the Trumbull gallery," he said into the radio. "I have Burchell and Fog in front of me. I need backup. I repeat: backup needed in Trumbull gallery." Agent Meckler stuck the walkie-talkie back onto its holster on his belt and drew out a pair of handcuffs. With his gun trained on Jay's head, he turned to Tyler and ordered, "Stay put. Don't move or I will be forced to shoot your friend."

Keeping his arms in the air, Tyler begrudgingly nodded as Jay looked at him with a dejected look. Agent Meckler grabbed Jay by the shoulder and turned him around. Pinning Jay's chest onto the wall, Meckler reached for his wrist.

"Don't move!" a female voice said from behind.

Meckler immediately spun around and trained his gun on the source of the voice: Marlow. Marlow stood at the entryway with her gun pointed at Meckler's forehead. Standing behind her were Will and Allison. Tyler looked at Marlow with a perplexed and dazed expression on his face. He couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"Marlow!" Meckler shouted.

"I said, don't move, Jonathan," Marlow told him. She kept Meckler's head in her sights, but didn't pull the trigger.

"What are you doing, Marlow?! Stand down!" Meckler demanded.

"I can't let you take them in," Marlow replied.

"If you try to stop me, I will take you down," Meckler warned.

Marlow nodded her head at her old friend and said, "Guess you'll have to, then, huh?"

Before Meckler could do anything more, Jay spun around and slammed his elbow into Meckler's neck. The agent fell to the ground, dropping his gun. He tried to rise again, but Jay kicked him back down. As Meckler fell, his head bounced against the hard floor, rendering him unconscious. Bending over, Jay picked up Meckler's gun and pointed it at Marlow.

"Stay back," Jay instructed her.

"I'm here to help you, Burchell," Marlow informed him.

"Stay back!" Jay repeated. Looking behind her at Will, he shouted, "Will, come here."

"Meckler, this is Chambers. Meckler, do you copy?!" Chambers voice asked through the radio. All eyes fell on the black walkie-talkie on Meckler's belt. "Meckler!"

Raising his eyes, Will turned to his friends and stated, "We have to get out of here."

"Fine," Jay said. He turned to pull the grating out of the wall, but Will stopped him.

"We have to get out another way!" Will said. "They knew we were coming so they probably found our car by now. We can't risk going back to it!"

"How else are we gonna get outta here, Will?!" Tyler wanted to know. "This place is crawling with Feds by now! You heard the walkie-talkie! Chambers is coming!"

"We can still escape through the front entrance. All the agents they left there are down," Will suggested.

As Tyler started walking towards Will, he noticed Allison standing behind Marlow. Pointing a finger at her, he said, "Who's the girl?"

"Chambers' daughter," Will answered as he turned around and led the group out of the Trumbull gallery.

Tyler looked at her with a bewildered look on his face, but couldn't help but think at how beautiful she looked. Shaking her image out of his head, Tyler followed Will and Jay out the gallery with Marlow and Allison following behind. As the group of five hurried out of the Trumbull gallery, they stopped at the sound of a gun cocking behind them. Turning around slowly, they noticed Otis Whaley standing behind them with his gun pointed clumsily in their direction.

Whaley smirked devilishly at them as their eyes widened. Nervously, Tyler turned around to look for a way out, but was surprised to see another gun pointed at them. His face seemed to slump sadly as he saw the hand holding the gun. It was Gabriel with a blank expression on his face. He cocked the gun and kept it trained on Tyler as Tyler and his friends looked at him with dogged expressions.

"Time to give up," Whaley taunted from behind.

"So this is how it's gonna end?" Tyler muttered to Gabriel. "You're gonna kill your own brother?"

"I'm sorry. I have to," Gabriel wept. He was about to pull the trigger, but Marlow lifted her gun towards him.

"Don't move, Agent Marlow!" Whaley shouted from behind. "I'll take the girl out."

Allison turned to Whaley as she realized he was talking about her. The barrel of Whaley's gun was directed exactly at her. Her body began to tremble and it felt like her heart stopped beating as she stared into the black hole.

Refusing to listen, Marlow kept her gun trained on Gabriel. "Put the gun down or your partner goes down."

"My partner?" Whaley replied. "Like I care."

Unnoticed, Will whipped out his pistol and aimed it at Whaley. Eyeing him out the corner of his eye, Whaley scoffed at his quick movements. Tilting his head, Will asked tauntingly, "You care now?"

"Drop the gun, Traveler!" someone instructed from down the hallway. Turning to his left, Will saw Chambers coming at him with his gun aimed in his direction. He stopped a few feet short and cocked his weapon.

"Dad!" Allison shouted from across the hall.

Surprised, Chambers took his attention away from Will and turned to his daughter. His eyes widened in a mixture of shock and anger as he looked at his beloved daughter. "Ally, what are you doing here?!" he demanded to know.

"I think we should save the reunions for later. Don't you agree, Chambers?" Whaley said as he waved his gun at Allison.

Clenching his teeth, Chambers turned his gun away from Will and turned it on Whaley. "Drop your gun," he instructed.

"You gonna shoot me, sir?" Whaley asked mockingly. "You wouldn't want them to know the truth, would you?"

Sweat dripping down his forehead, Chambers agitatedly screamed, "Drop the damn gun!"

Whaley smirked at Chambers as he opened his mouth to speak. However, he stopped when he heard a gun cocking behind him. Standing there was Rex. "He said, drop the gun!" she shouted.

In the middle of all the guns pointed around them, Jay and Tyler turned to one another. Both of them had worn out looks on their faces. Exhaustedly breathing, the two boys could do nothing but hold tightly on to their backpacks, which held the truth about the journey they had set out on. Closing their eyes, Jay and Tyler dropped to the ground as they heard the cacophony of gunshots ringing around them.


	14. Chapter 14: The Trap

Guest Starring

Frank Mills…………………..Chiwetel Ejiofor

Nicole Rex………………...Rose Byrne

Otis Whaley…………………Enrique Mitchell

Rosalind Freed………...…...Mary Tyler Moore

Carlton Fog...…………...William Sadler

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Chapter 14: The Trap**

Gunfire raging around them, Jay and Tyler dropped to the floor for cover. They brought their hands over their heads as they listened to the bullets flying around the hallway. Marlow dropped to the ground as her right shoulder was hit by Whaley's bullets. The arrogant man smirked at her as he raised his gun to her again. Before he could shoot, though, Rex shot him in the back of the calf, forcing him to the ground. Against the wall of the hallway, Chambers took cover with his gun trained on Whaley. Ducking into another room, Will began firing at Whaley who dove out of the way.

At the other end of the hallway, Gabriel fired at Rex, but missed as Tyler tackled him to the ground. Rushing at his brother, Tyler disregarded the bullets coming towards him and knocked him to the ground. Gabriel pointed his gun up at Tyler, but Tyler kicked it out of his hand before he could fire. The gun slid across the ground and hit the wall as Tyler punched Gabriel across the face.

Across the hallway, Allison was ducking frightfully into another room as bullets shot every which way around her. She covered her head and lay on the ground as she heard footsteps coming near. Turning, she saw five FBI agents running towards her direction.

Back in the hallway, Whaley recklessly fired at everyone around him as he staggered away. Refusing to let him go, though, Marlow climbed to her feet and charged into Whaley. The two flew into the wall behind Jay and dropped both their guns.

Jay quickly climbed to his feet and began running. He grabbed Tyler by the back of his shirt and dragged him away. Behind them, Will popped out of his hiding spot and ran after them. Still taking cover, Chambers turned to Rex and called after her.

"Rex! Get Traveler and the others!" he ordered.

Aiming her gun at Whaley and Marlow, she asked, "What about them?!"

"I'll handle them!" Chambers shouted back.

Nodding begrudgingly, Rex took off down the hallway after Will, Jay, and Tyler. Meanwhile, Gabriel silently climbed to his feet and crawled to his left into another room. Climbing to his feet, he peeked out the corner of the room to where Whaley was. Touching the cut on his lip, he turned away and headed across the room.

In the room she was hiding in, Allison watched as the FBI agents passed by her and hurried into the hallway. Looking around, she realized there was no one left. Picking up her black backpack, she raced across the room into another hallway.

In the hallway, Chambers pointed his gun at the back of Marlow's head and told her, "Get off him, Marlow."

Marlow threw a punch at Whaley's face then backed away. Turning around, she angrily stared into Chambers' eyes as he trained his gun on her.

"Long time no see," Chambers taunted. Turning his attention to Whaley for a moment, he ordered, "Get out of here!"

Whaley wiped blood from the side of his lip and hurried away. Suddenly, though, he found a gun pointed at the side of his head and stopped. Three FBI agents exited a room in the gallery with their guns positioned on Whaley. Sighing angrily, Whaley lifted his arms in the air and surrendered. One of the FBI agents walked up to him and stuck a pair of handcuffs around his wrists.

Down the hallway, Marlow noticed Chambers had taken his attention off of her. Taking the opportunity, she slapped the gun out of Chambers' hand and kicked him against the wall. As Chambers fell back against the wall, Marlow turned and ran away. Reaching for the gun in his ankle holster, Chambers opened fire on his former subordinate. Just then, two agents appeared in the hall to assist Chambers.

-----

Elsewhere in the Art Gallery, Will led Jay and Tyler across a room with Rex running behind them. They hurried out of the room and turned left down a hallway. Rex made it across the room a second later and pursued them down the hall. Turning around, Will breathlessly watched Rex closing in on them. She brought her gun up and pointed it at them. Before she could fire, though, Will grabbed his two friends and dove into a room to the right of them.

As they scrambled up to their feet, they heard a gunshot ring behind them. Tyler jumped a little as he followed his two friends across the room and into another hallway. Gritting her teeth, Rex hurried out the room. In the hallway, Will led his friends up a staircase into the upper floor. Rex followed them up the stairs, but lost them once she reached the next floor.

Spinning around, she couldn't see where the boys had gone. Several hallways split off from the top of the stairs with dozens of rooms connected to them. Reaching for her radio, she pressed a button on the side and said, "This is Agent Rex. I've lost Traveler, Burchell, and Fog. I repeat: I've lost Traveler, Burchell, and Fog on the upper floor."

Hiding behind a wall in one of the rooms, Jay, Tyler, and Will cautiously listened to Rex run down one of the hallways. Peeking out from behind the wall, Will checked to see if anyone was coming. Turning to Jay and Tyler, he motioned for them to follow him out the room.

-----

Back downstairs, Marlow raced across the gallery as two FBI agents pursued her. She fired back at them twice, but missed both times. Turning the corner, she sped across an empty room towards another hallway. The two agents behind her followed down the hallway; they did not see her hiding behind a wall.

As the two agents passed by, Marlow jumped out of her hiding spot at the last one and clothes lined him. Her right arm slammed into the man's neck as he ran at full speed. His head bounced against the ground as he fell on his back. The other agent swung the butt of his gun at Marlow, but Marlow blocked with her forearm and punched the man across the face. Knocking the gun out of the agent's hand, Marlow kneed him in the gut and drove her elbow into the back of his head. Throwing the man onto the floor, Marlow snatched his walkie-talkie out of his holster and ran down the hall.

Marlow could feel her heart racing faster than her as she sprinted down the hallway. Every other sound around her was drowned out by her heartbeat. Even her heavy footsteps and loud breathing were silent. Grabbing at a wall for support, she turned the sharp corner and ran down another empty hallway. At the end of the hallway, she saw a green sign hanging from the ceiling that read 'EXIT'.

-----

Will, Jay, and Tyler hurried down the stairwell and discovered themselves in the lobby of the Art Gallery. There appeared to be no other agents around so the three boys hurried outside the Art Gallery. Slowing down, they tried to appear as inconspicuous as possible.

Will zipped his jacket up to the top while Tyler put his hood on. In between them, Jay stuck his hands into his pockets and tipped the bill of his hat over his eyes. Quietly, they walked down the sidewalk as several squad cars zipped passed them and stopped in front of the Art Gallery. None of them dared to look back in fear of being spotted. Heading down the street, they turned and walked through the park.

As they crossed the park, they were stopped by Allison who popped out from behind a fountain. Will brushed passed her and said, "Go home."

"I'm not going anywhere," Allison persistently stated.

"Do you not understand what's going on here?" Will asked. "You get involved, you will be burned."

Ignoring Will, Allison told him, "They killed my friend."

Jay, Tyler, and Will all exchanged looks of suspicion as the girl before them spoke. Jay turned to her and asked, "Who?"

"I don't know who," Allison replied. "I just know they killed him."

"Then if you don't want to end up like your friend, you better leave," Will warned. He started to walk off, but stopped at the sound of a cocking gun. Turning around, he saw Allison pointed a concealed gun at them.

Allison's hand shook as she pointed the loaded gun at Will, Jay, and Tyler. Her lips trembling, she muttered, "I'm going with you."

"Did you not hear what I just said?" Will questioned, obviously not frightened by the gun. "If you want to live then leave."

"I just want the truth," Allison replied.

"Hey!" someone shouted. It was a police officer. He hastily grabbed his radio out of his holster and ran in the boys' and Allison's direction.

Jay and Will turned around and raced away from the park as the policeman was joined by another officer. Thoughtlessly, Tyler grabbed Allison by her arm and dragged her away. Racing across the park, Tyler, Allison, Jay, and Will felt as if fire was beginning to engulf them. Reaching the sidewalk, they hurried up the street as a squad car appeared behind them. Luckily, the squad car was obstructed by a white van coming down the other street. The squad car nearly slammed into the van's side on its way across the street after the boys and Allison.

Turning back, Tyler noticed they had gained a considerably lead from the officers on foot. The two officers chasing them were just now racing up the hill while they were already turning right. However, it wasn't time to slow down. Quickening his pace, Tyler ran alongside Jay and Will as they hurried down the sidewalk. Behind them, Allison nervously turned to see the two cops running after them. She immediately turned back around and did her best to catch up to the three boys ahead of her.

"This way!" Will shouted as he recklessly crossed the street.

A blue four-door driving through the intersection honked its horn at the four companions as they hurried across. A bunch of students holding books and backpacks jumped at the sight of the boys and Allison running through them. One of the girls shrieked as Will pushed her aside in order to get through.

"Sorry," Jay muttered as he ran passed her.

The five students turned back around to continue up the street, but were startled by the policemen coming towards them. Making a path, they watched the two cops hurry after Will, Jay, Tyler, and Allison. As they rushed down the street, the four companions heard the sound of police sirens drawing closer. Holding tightly onto the straps of his backpack so it wouldn't slip off, Will brushed passed a man wheeling cardboard boxes into a building. The man accidentally tilted the cart over as Jay, Tyler, and Allison ran passed him as well. Grabbing the corner of a building, Will sharply curved into the narrow alleyway. Jay, Tyler, and Allison followed him in, where they stopped to take a breath.

"What are we doing?" Tyler asked breathlessly. He ran his hand through his fringed, sweaty hair. "We can't stop now. They'll catch us!"

"We need to find a car," Will suggested.

"We don't have time, Will! They've got squad cars coming after us!" Jay told him.

Pushing his face toward Jay's, Will replied, "That's exactly why we need one! I don't know about you, but I can't outrun a car."

Breathing exhaustedly, Jay glared at Will, but relented. Sighing, he paced around the alley and looked around. "There's no way we're stealing a car around here. There's too many people."

A pair of college students walked by along with a car honking its horn at someone. Tyler jumped at the sound and held his hand to his thumping chest. "He's right, Will," Tyler said. "We have to keep moving till we reach somewhere safe."

"Alright," Will nodded. Catching his breath, he turned to Allison and pointed a finger in her face. "But you – you have to leave. They don't have your face yet so you're still safe. If I were you, I'd get out while I could."

"Well you're not me," Allison bit back.

Will stared at her with an unyielding expression and replied, "Do you know how deep this goes?"

"What do you mean?" Allison wanted to know.

"What you've gotten yourself into – you're not just up against terrorists or cops," Will told her.

"I don't care!" Allison snapped.

"You will when you're in front of a gun and the guy holding it puts a bullet right between your eyes."

"I'm not afraid," Allison stuttered. Her creamy white face was turning red with anger at Will.

Shaking his head sternly, Will ordered, "Go home!"

"I'm not afraid!" Allison screamed back. Her voice cracked as she yelled. It sounded as if she was ready to cry.

"Will, we don't have time for this right now!" Jay said, grabbing his friend by the arm.

Will turned to Jay and replied, "If she goes with us, she's painting a target on her back!"

"She said she's not afraid," Tyler burst in. Caressing his face with his callous hands, he said, "Just let her come. She dies, that's her problem, not ours."

Will angrily sighed then turned to Allison. Reaching down at his right foot, Will pulled up the end of his pant leg. There was a holster with a Glock 30 strapped around his ankle. He pulled the handgun out and tossed it to Allison apprehensively. Catching the gun clumsily, Allison held it in her right hand and stared at it with wide, innocent eyes.

-----

The entrance to the Yale Art Gallery was nothing more than panes of shattered glass and metal bars twisted into jagged pretzels. In the middle of the street, there was a white ambulance parked with its back doors open. Squad cars and FBI SUVs and sedans were parked on the street in front of it with their sirens activated. No one was in them, though. All of the FBI agents and police officers crowded in a circle around Chambers on the sidewalk. Amongst the gathering of Feds and policemen were Agents Mills and Rex. Mills had a white band-aid stuck to the bridge of his nose and on the side of his temple. There was also dried blood stuck to the side of his busted lip. Rex, however, looked fine. Although she was exhausted and out of breath, her appearance was at least half-pristine.

In the middle of the circle, Chambers stood with his hands on his hips and an agitated look on his face. If he were a cartoon smoke would have been pouring out his ears and nose by now. "New Haven PD last spotted our guys somewhere between 5th Ave and Pierson. I want half of you down there searching for them. Rex, you're staying here with a group to watch the place in case they come back. Mills, I want you on standby. You tell me immediately if anything comes up," Chambers instructed.

"Sir, I should be out there lookin' for them!" Mills stubbornly said.

"Look at yourself Mills. One more punch and your face will shatter," Chambers told him. Shaking his head, he said, "You're staying here, end of discussion."

Mills angrily shook his head and turned away from Chambers. Rex looked up at him sympathetically as he pushed his way out of the circle.

Ignoring Mills, Chambers turned his attention back to his team of agents and cops and shouted, "Everyone else, keep your eyes sharp and your ears tuned. You see anything, hear anything, I want to be notified! We have come this close! We are not letting these boys get away now!"

-----

Down the street from the Art Gallery, Gabriel discreetly strode down a street, passing by several students and even a couple police officers in search of his brother and his friends. Gabriel had dropped his jacket somewhere a few minutes ago as he disappeared from the Gallery. He wore only a pair of jeans and white and green striped dress shirt now. Unbuttoning the two buttons on the sleeve of his shirt, Gabriel pulled his sleeves up to his elbows. He had been in a hurry to escape from the Gallery. Sweat was coming down his face and back and there was dried blood on the side of his lip and in his nose.

Licking his thumb, Gabriel wiped the blood off his lip. As he scanned the area for any sign of anyone that could identify him, he jumped at the tap of his shoulder. Spinning around, he saw a pair of policemen behind him.

"Excuse me, sir, have you seen any of these men?" one of the cops asked. He held up a sheet of paper with Jay, Tyler, and Will's faces on them.

Shaking his head, Gabriel frowned and replied, "Sorry, haven't seen 'em."

The cop nodded and said, "Thank you."

The cop started down the street while the other one eyed Gabriel. Innocently smiling back, Gabriel nodded at the policeman as he followed the other cop down the street. Pinching his nose to quell the bleeding, Gabriel surveyed his surroundings again then made his way across the street.

-----

Tyler slipped his arms out of his jacket and handed it to a homeless man sitting by a bus stop as he, Jay, Will, and Allison strolled by. Wearing only a white, long-sleeved sweater and jeans, he stuffed his hands into his pant pockets and quietly walked down the street. The four of them were still in downtown New Haven so it would definitely be a while till they reached a spot with few witnesses around. Cautiously eyeing his surroundings, Tyler crossed the cross-walk with his friends. A group of men and women from different styles and cultures passed by the group as they headed across the street. Tyler smiled at one of the men as the man looked up at his face.

Gulping, Tyler followed his friends onto the sidewalk and down another street. Turning around, he saw the man he had smiled at was still looking at him. Spinning around, Tyler's eyes widened and he whispered, "I think that guy noticed me."

"Who?" Jay asked, turning around.

"Don't look!" Tyler warned him. "He looked at me when we were crossing and he was still looking at me after we crossed. I think he knows who I am."

"Then we better hurry," Will suggested as he sped up.

Walking quickly, Tyler turned the corner with his companions and headed down the street. Nervously, he scratched the back of his neck and said, "Let's just take a bus. I doubt we'll be noticed on a bus."

"This is New Haven, Ty," Jay reminded him. "Everyone takes the bus here."

"Jay's right. It's too risky. We're better off walking," Will added.

"What about a taxi?" Allison recommended. "It's just one person. Not much risk there, right?"

"And where are we gonna ask the guy to take us?" Will sardonically asked.

"Train station," Allison answered. "It's better than having to steal a car. I can pay for the tickets. Like you said, they don't know my face yet."

Sighing, Will nodded and said, "Fine. We'll go to the train station."

-----

Otis Whaley sat in the back of a squad car with his hands cuffed behind his back. There was a placid expression on his face and he simply stared forward through the cage of the car. He sat silently in the squad car while everyone outside the car was scrambling around in search of Will, Jay, and Tyler. Whaley finally looked away from the cage as he noticed Chambers walking over to him.

Chambers scanned the area for anyone that could be watching him as he neared the squad car. Adjusting the collar of his jacket, Chambers opened the squad car's passenger side door and hopped in.

"You gonna let me outta these cuffs?" Whaley asked as soon as Chambers slammed the door shut.

"After what you pulled in there – threatening my daughter – I should just shoot you right here," Chambers threatened. He stared at Whaley through the rear view mirror.

"Then why don't you?" Whaley taunted with a conniving smile.

"Because it would be too messy and you know me – I hate messes," Chambers replied.

"Then get me out of these cuffs and let me handle this mess."

"I would," Chambers started, "but unfortunately, there are too many people around here. I let you go, five seconds later, you're back in this car."

"Then what?" Whaley demanded to know.

"You'll see. You're not gonna be in play for a while, though, so sit tight," Chambers said, smiling. He opened the door again and stepped out. He turned back to Whaley who had a pissed-off look on his face and said, "Listen, you do anything to threaten my daughter again and I will make you wish you were never born."

Whaley scoffed at Chambers' threat and added, "Says the man who opted to kill his daughter."

Chambers made a disgusted look at Whaley then said sternly, "Shut up." Turning away from the smirking Whaley, he slammed the door behind him and walked away.

-----

The number of people boarding the train back to New York City was average. There weren't very many people, but there was enough to make Will, Jay, and Tyler feel suspicious and uncomfortable. They nervously hopped onboard with Allison at the head. The four companions walked down an aisle of occupied seats on their way to the back. Towards the tail end of the train, there was a quartet of blue seats that were free for the taking.

Allison took one of the aisle seats so one of the boys would have the luxury of hiding their face by the window. Tyler took the seat beside her while Jay jumped into the window seat across from them. Will sighed and set his backpack on the floor as he sat down directly across from Allison. Running his hand through his air, he unzipped his backpack and slouched in his seat.

Two men in black suits took the seats behind Allison and Tyler. Will watched them carefully as they set their luggage in the overhead compartment before sitting down. Turning away from them, Will leaned against his fist, which was propped up on the arm of his chair.

"Two hours," he muttered. "This is gonna be a long trip."

Tyler nodded in agreement as he slumped back in his seat and closed his eyes to rest. Will did the same, but Jay seemed a bit apprehensive to sleeping. Instead of taking the time to sleep, he stared out the window just as the train whistle blew and the train took off down the rail.

-----

The vibrant sun sent rays of sunlight down at the windows of a train speeding through a grassy valley. The beams of light bounced off the windows of the train as it raced away from the city behind it. It had been about an hour since the train sped down the rail at New Haven and Jay was still staring out the window. Diagonally across from him, Allison quietly sat while looking at her new companion. Beside her and in front of her, Tyler and Will had fallen fast asleep. Tyler was snoring loudly, but Will retained his quiet and meager disposition as he slept. Allison eyed Jay with prejudice before finally speaking.

"You haven't slept yet," she noted.

"You haven't either," he retorted.

"I'm not the one who's been running for God knows how long," Allison replied.

Shifting his eyes away from the window, Jay turned to Allison and smiled. "I just got a lot on my mind."

"I bet," Allison sighed. "Just hearing about what you guys have gone through on the news is tiring."

"And that's only the half of it," Jay replied.

"So I've heard," Allison said.

Jay nodded and leaned tiredly against the window. Looking over at Allison, he asked, "Have you heard anything about Kim Doherty?"

"Kim – that's your girlfriend, right?" Jay nodded. Allison frowned and shook her head sadly. "I'm sorry. News hasn't said a thing about her in the last three months."

"What's the last thing you heard?" Jay wanted to know.

Allison shrugged and said, "That she helped you guys escape from Club Fervor in Manhattan."

"That's it?" Jay questioned. He seemed highly surprised. "That's the last thing anyone said about her?!"

Allison nodded meekly. "I'm sorry."

Sighing angrily, Jay ran his fingers through his hair and said, "No, it's not your fault. I shouldn't have gotten her involved in this."

Allison licked her lips and thought about Jack. "Wherever she is, I'm sure she's okay. She's probably more worried about you than you are about her."

"Well I'm pretty worried," Jay said, absurdly smiling.

"Trust me, she's alright," Allison told him.

Jay nodded in hopeful agreement and asked, "What's your story? Why'd you suddenly show up?"

Taking a deep breath, Allison said, "Believe it or not – the guy that's been chasing you is my father."

"Chambers is your dad?"

"Yup. I'm Allison Chambers," Allison introduced herself. "Anyways, I found some stuff that belonged to him that seemed suspicious. It wasn't anything big, but it was something that should've gone out to the media. You see, I'm kinda doing a report on you guys for my project; I'm trying to become a journalist."

"Nice," Jay commented. "Maybe you'll be of more help than we thought."

Chuckling a little, Allison continued, "I tried to find out more about your friend here." She pointed at Will. "I traced him to Deer Harbor and I think I found something I shouldn't have. I ignored the consequences, though, and I kept pushing it. Next thing I know, my friend dies because he helped me find out a little bit more."

"I'm sorry," Jay sympathetically said.

Allison smiled weakly at him and replied, "It's not your fault." Continuing, she said, "Some of the information my friend gave me before he died – it was connected to my dad. I didn't believe it. I wouldn't. After all, it's my dad – he's my hero, y'know. But then, one of his coworkers – Agent Rex – gave me something that just – I dunno – furthered my suspicions I guess."

"Agent Rex – is she on our side?" Jay asked.

"What do you mean 'our side'?"

"Does she know the truth?"

Allison shook her head and said, "I don't think so. She gave me the info 'cause she couldn't figure out what it meant. She said Agent Marlow had led her to it."

"What about Marlow? How does she know about all this?"

Allison looked up at Jay with a confused expression. "Isn't Marlow working with you guys?"

"No," Jay replied, shaking his head. "Last time I saw her, she tried arresting me."

"What?!" Allison said, surprised.

"Why does that surprise you?"

"They said Marlow was working with you guys," Allison revealed. "She went underground three months ago; same time you guys disappeared."

"Then she's like you – she stumbled onto the truth," Jay said. Leaning forward, he looked Allison in the eyes and continued, "Allison, you have to trust me on this, but your father – I don't know if he's a good man."

"Yes he is," Allison defensively retorted.

"Maybe he is or maybe he's just another pawn, but whatever he is, I think he might be a part of this," Jay said. "Before we disappeared, Tyler found out someone in the FBI was involved. It wasn't Marlow; it wasn't Borjes. I'm not saying it's definitely your dad, but with what you've told me, there's a good chance it is him."

-New Haven, CT-

Agent Chambers stood behind a man in front of a monitor at the security guards' room at the New Haven train station. There were two FBI agents standing behind Chambers as he leaned over the security guard's shoulder. The guard pressed a button at the bottom of the monitor and rewinded the security tape inside.

"This footage was taken about an hour ago," the guard told Chambers. "None of us noticed it till I had to replace the tape."

"You're sure it's them?" Chambers asked.

"It looked like them," the guard answered. He pressed another button and the image on the monitor change. "There was a girl with them though."

At the mention of a girl with his targets, Chambers nearly choked. Gulping, he regained his composure and looked at the screen. The security guard pointed at a young woman walked towards a trio of college boys standing on the waiting platform at the station. One of the boys – the shortest one – seemed to be scanning the area. A second later, he looked directly up at the camera. It was definitely Will Traveler. He immediately looked away from the camera and turned to his friends.

"That's them," Chambers muttered.

"Who's the girl?" the guard asked.

Chambers watched as Allison turned around to look at the camera. He swallowed again and lied, "I don't know."

Shrugging, the guard stopped the tape and popped it out of the monitor. "Here you go. We've got copies so you can take this one."

"Thank you," Chambers said as he snatched the videotape out of the guard's hand. Turning to his subordinates, he said, "Let's go. They're not in New Haven anymore."

"Where are they?" one of the agents asked.

"I don't know," Chambers replied as he opened the door to exit.

Heading out to the train station, Chambers made his way to one of the black SUVs parked outside. The two agents followed him over. One of them walked around the front of the SUV to get into the driver's seat while the other one opened the door. Chambers, however, did not get into the car with them.

"I'll be right back. Stay here," Chambers instructed. The two agents nodded as Chambers scurried across the train station to one of the women at the ticket booth.

The woman smiled at Chambers as she asked him, "Hi. Where will you be going today?"

"I'm not here to buy a ticket," Chambers said as he flashed the woman his badge. "How long have you been at this booth?"

"My shift started three hours ago," the woman replied.

Nodding, Chambers reached for his wallet and searched for a photo of Allison. Chambers pulled the photograph out of his wallet and pressed it up against the glass shielding the booth. "Have you seen this girl?"

The woman furrowed her brow in concentration as she stared at the photo. Sticking her tongue out her lips, she nodded and said, "Yeah, I think I saw her here about an hour ago. She was with some boys."

Chambers bit his lip angrily and turned away. He turned back around, though, and asked, "Where was she headed? Do you remember?"

"I'm not exactly sure on this one, but I think she bought four tickets to New York."

Sighing, Chambers thanked the woman before heading back to the car. Opening the passenger side door, he hopped into the seat and said, "We're going back to Manhattan."

------

Hovering over the dirty sink of a gas station restroom, Marlow took a handful of napkins and pressed it hard against her right arm. The bullet wound she suffered wasn't too severe, but if she didn't stop the bleeding, she wouldn't be on the move for long. Moving the napkins away from the wound a little, Marlow took a tiny bottle of rubbing alcohol she'd bought from the gas station and poured it over the wound. She felt a stinging sensation go through her arm as the alcohol touched the burning wound. Cringing, she held tightly onto the edge of the sink.

"All units pull back. I repeat: all units pull back. We're going back home," a man said through the walkie-talkie Marlow set up atop the sink.

She eyed the radio for a second as the man repeated himself. Hurrying, she took a roll of gauze and wrapped it around her arm. Taping the gauze together, she bit the end off and tossed everything back into the bag she set beside the radio. Grabbing the walkie-talkie, she burst through the door and headed away from the gas station.

-Somewhere in New York-

Jay stared at the empty seat diagonally across from him where Allison's black backpack sat. Allison herself had gotten up to use the restroom a few minutes ago. Walking down the aisle, she noticed Jay staring at her backpack.

"Something wrong?" she asked.

Snapping out of his trance, Jay shook his head and said, "No. I just noticed you have a laptop."

"Yeah," Allison replied. "I do most of my research and writing on it."

Nodding, Jay asked, "Do you mind if I use it?"

"No, go ahead," Allison said as she pulled the laptop out. Handing it to Jay, she asked, "Still worried about her?"

"How could I not be?" Jay sighed as he pulled on the tiny latch to flip the laptop screen up. Pressing the power button on the side, he sat back and waited for the screen to load.

Allison glumly looked away from Jay and stared out the window. Beside her, Tyler rustled awake and opened his mouth wide to yawn. Without bothering to cover his mouth, Tyler stretched his arms out and rubbed the back of his head. Cracking the kinks out of his neck, he remembered where he was. Rubbing his face, he slumped back in the seat and looked at Jay.

"What are you doing?"

"Trying to find out anything about Kim," Jay answered. "There's gotta be something. They couldn't have just arrested her and not said anything about it."

"They can do anything they want, Jay. They're the government," Tyler pessimistically said.

"I don't care," Jay replied, shaking his head. "I'm not giving up on her."

Sighing, Tyler ran his fingers through his hair and stared out the window. He noticed Allison's reflection in the window; she appeared to be staring at her. "Can I help you with something?" he asked.

Embarrassed, Allison quickly shook her head and changed the subject. "Do you have anyone?" she asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Like a girlfriend or a family member waiting for you," Allison clarified.

The first image that came to Tyler's mind was Nell's. Her reflection smiled at him and Tyler couldn't help but smile back. He wondered where she was now. Suddenly, though, he was flooded with gloomier memories.

"This is about making it right! This is about securing the future of this family!" Tyler remembered his father telling him. "You're not strong enough, Tyler."

The image of his father faded away and his younger brother's face came into view. The little boy Tyler had loved and always competed with was gone. All Tyler could see was an unfamiliar face staring at him with ghostly eyes. "I'm sorry," he muttered without emotion.

"Tyler?" Allison muttered.

Widening his eyes, Tyler drifted back to reality and turned to her. Frowning, he shook his head and answered, "No, not really."

"I'm sorry," Allison replied.

"Don't be. My family died a long time ago," Tyler grimly stated.

-New York FBI Field Office-

A stationary black helicopter sat on the rooftop in the middle of a red circle with an 'H' painted in the center of it. The door of the helicopter was open and several men stepped out. Among them was Chambers followed by Agent Mills and Agent Rex. There was another agent with them who dragged Whaley off the helicopter and towards the door. The driver of the helicopter hopped out as well and followed soon after.

As he headed towards the gray, metal door, Chambers felt his phone buzzing in his pocket. Pulling it out, he saw Gabriel's name on the screen. Flipping it open, he shouted, "I'm busy right now! Can't talk!"

"Wait! Just tell me where you are!" Gabriel retorted.

Chambers turned to Rex and Mills. They stared up at him as they waited for him to unlock the door. "I'm back in Manhattan. I'll call you back later." He immediately hung the phone up and sighed. Shoving the phone into his pocket, he unlocked the door and lied, "My mom. Apparently news crews are already at the scene in New Haven."

Mills grinned and shook his head. "Never underestimate the power of the press," he chuckled.

-Somewhere in New York-

"You find anything yet?" Allison asked Jay.

Jay was still sitting with the laptop seated on his thighs. He typed something on the keyboard and shook his head. "No, everything they have is articles from three months ago," Jay replied. "Nothing new."

"I wouldn't expect there to be anything about her in there anyways," Will interjected. He had woken up a few minutes ago and running his fingers through his hair. "Government tends to keep illegal activities secret," he sarcastically said.

"I'm not going to lose her, Will," Jay sternly told him. "You know me; I'll do anything to get her back."

"I know you would," Will said. "That's why you have to stay calm. You do anything irrational and everything could fall apart."

"I can't just sit here and do nothing! I've been doing that for the past three months, Will! It's time I did something about my girlfriend!"

"What about her dad?" Tyler suggested. "We can look him up; ask him if he's heard anything."

Will shook his head 'no' and said, "That'll lead us nowhere."

"How do you know?" Jay retorted.

"You said her dad was strict, right? A real hard ass?" Jay nodded. "Well if that's true and he does know what happened to Kim then we'd be seeing him on the news doing whatever he can to get his daughter back."

"Maybe they shut him up," Tyler guessed. "Paid him off or something."

Will shook his head again and replied, "He's a dad. He loves his daughter. No amount of money could change that."

In her seat, Allison leaned against her shoulder and turned away from the boys.

"Then what do you suggest we do?" Jay asked.

"Kim's not our first priority right now – "

"She might not be your first priority, but she definite is mine," Jay interrupted.

"Will you calm down and listen to me for once," Will said, grabbing Jay by the collar of his jacket. Letting Jay go, he continued, "We need to find out what was so important about that crypt first. Once we know what we've got, then we'll do something about Kim."

Jay clenched his fist, but he stopped himself. He let out a defeated sigh and said, "Fine. We'll find out what we have then we find Kim."

Will looked Jay in the eyes and nodded assuredly.

-----

"What do any of these things have to do with the Fourth Branch?" Tyler demanded to know as he flipped through a book. "It's just stuff he used to use when he was alive!"

Jay opened a tarnished sketch book and looked at the messy drawings in them. One was of George Washington and another was of a man Jay never saw before. He flipped to the last page fo the sketch and saw a scribbled drawing of the _Declaration of Independence_. "It has to lead back to the painting," Jay muttered. "Freed wanted it badly. It has to be more important than we think."

"What painting are you talking about?" Allison asked.

"Trumbull's_Declaration of Independence_," Jay answered.

"That was the only painting from the Drexler that went missing," Allison remembered.

"Yeah, I stole it," Will bluntly said.

"Oh…"

"What's the history on that painting?" Jay questioned. "Maybe if we knew something about it, it'd help us."

"I don't know," Will replied. "I'm not much of an art person. Kim would've been a lot of help on this one."

Jay brought his eyes up from the sketch he was looking at, but dropped them back down.

"It's supposed to depict the signing of the Declaration of Independence," Tyler spoke up. "But it's a fabrication; some of the people in the painting weren't even signers of the Declaration and fourteen people that actually signed it were missing."

"What do you think it means?" Jay wondered.

"Today, I met forty-seven men who will change the world as we know it," Allison mumbled.

"What?" Jay asked, looking up at her. She was holding a coffee-colored notebook with pages that appeared worn and mottled.

"George Wythe, William Whipple, Josiah Bartlett, Thomas Lynch Jr., Benjamin Harrison, Richard Henry Lee, Samuel Adams, George Clinton, William Paca, Samuel Chase, Lewis Morris, William Floyd, Arthur Middleton, Thomas Heyward Jr., Charles Carroll, George Walton, Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery, George Clymer, Robert Morris, Thomas Willing, Benjamin Rush, Elbridge Gerry, Robert Treat Paine, Abraham Clarke, William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, James Wilson, Francis Hopkinson, John Adams, Roger Sherman, Robert R. Livingston, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Richard Stockton, Francis Lewis, John Witherspoon, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott, Charles Thomson, John Hancock, George Read, John Dickinson, Edward Rutledge, Thomas McKean, and Philip Livingston."

"What are you talking about?!" Tyler asked, looking over Allison's shoulder.

"Together, these forty-seven men have signed a pact to govern over this nation and ensure that it prospers into a nation worthy of being called the United States of America," Allison continued. "I am glad to have been a part of this secret event today. I hope I have rightly captured the gloriousness and triumph of these great men. Dated July Fourth, Seventeen-seventy-six."

"His journal?" Will asked.

Allison set the notebook down on her lap and nodded silently.

As if a bullet had just struck him, Will reeled back in his chair and sunk into the cushion. He grasped at his jaw with his hand and rubbed his stubbly chin. His mouth gaping open, he gasped, "It's not a painting of the men signing the Declaration of Independence. It's a painting of the men forming the Fourth Branch."

-U.S. Medical Center for Federal Criminals -

Dressed in a navy blue blazer, knee-length skirt, and white blouse, Rosalind Freed's black heels clamored against the linoleum floor as she headed towards Carlton Fog's hospital room. Behind her walked two large, burly men in black suits with earpieces strung around their earlobes. Rosalind opened the door to Fog's room and entered while her bodyguards remained outside the door like statues.

"Gabriel?" Carlton muttered from his bed. Rosalind walked over to his bedside and looked down at him. With a surprised and confused face, Carlton demanded to know, "What are you doing here?"

"It seems your promise isn't being kept," Rosalind said. "You told me your son would get this done, Carlton."

"He will," Carlton retorted.

"Then why are those three pests still alive?" Rosalind angrily asked. Grunting, Rosalind walked over to the window and pulled the blinds open, letting shining slivers of light into the dank room. "Do you know what your son's failure has cost us?" Carlton refused to answer. "Traveler, Burchell, and your other son have what they need to bring us down."

"Gabriel will take of it," Carlton coughed.

"Open your eyes and look at what's on the table!" Rosalind shouted. "Your son and his friends have the journal, they have tapes, documents, confessions! Even if we say they're all fake and doctored, they will have enough media attention to bring the whole country down on us!"

Struggling, Carlton asked, "Then what do you suggest we do?"

"Chambers' daughter is with them now. We have her number. I want you to call Gabriel and have him call her cellphone. Tell him to tell her that he has information they need and that he wants to meet with her," Rosalind answered. She pulled a piece of notebook paper out of her pocket and shoved it into Carlton's hand. "Have them meet at this address. My men will take care of the rest. Is that understood?"

Carlton held the scrap of paper in his hand as he looked up at Rosalind. She glowered down at him with a menacing pair of eyes. Begrudgingly, Carlton nodded his head.

-Manhattan, NY-

The traffic light hanging above the busy street turned red, forcing Will to stop the gray four-door he'd stolen. Flipping his turn signal down, he waited for the light to turn red. Beside him, Jay asked, "Where are we going?"

"I've got a plan," Will said. "We need to lie low somewhere first, though."

"What kind of plan?" Jay wanted to know.

"You'll see," Will answered as he made a left turn.

Minutes later, Will parked the gray car on the street in front of a large motel. He opened all the doors and stepped out the car. Jay, Tyler, and Allison followed him up to the front of the motel, but he stopped and turned around.

"Allison, you're gonna have to check us into one of these rooms. Make sure it's on the top floor," Will told her. He reached into his back pocket for his wallet.

"Why the top floor? Wouldn't be harder to escape in case someone finds us?" Allison asked.

"Just do it," Will said as he handed her some money.

"Fine," Allison replied as she headed into the motel. She walked up to the man sitting at the front counter as Jay, Tyler, and Will waited outside. From the entrance, the boys could see Allison hand the man the money and snatch a key from the counter. Looking back outside, Allison motioned for her new companions to join her.

They reached the top of the stairs several minutes later and found their room. It was a small, cramped room with only two beds, but Will didn't plan on staying there for long. He locked the door behind him and set his backpack on one of the beds. Beside the other bed, Tyler set his backpack down and unzipped it. Jay immediately walked over to the window and looked outside. The window looked out over a narrow, empty alleyway. There was also a fire escape outside. Across from where he stood was the rooftop of some building with a large, red neon sign facing their window. In the corner of the room, Allison watched as Will reached into his backpack for his trust video camera.

"You're gonna film something?" Allison guessed.

"Yup," Will said, checking the camera to see if the battery still worked.

"What are you filming?"

Will turned the camera off to conserve the battery and looked over at Allison with a smile. "Our plan."

-New York FBI Field Office-

The bottom floor of the Field Office was used to hold suspects in until they were cleared for release. All the holding cells in this dungeon were free at the moment except for one. There was a big, white '01' painted on the blue, metal door which locked Otis Whaley in the room. He sat placidly on the bed, staring straight at the empty wall before him. Outside his holding cell stood a tall, blonde man in a gray suit. The man kept his hands folded in front of him as he stood silently beside the large door. Hearing the sound of a door opening, the agent turned to his right.

The door leading into the holding cells opened and Chambers walked in. The agent by Whaley's cell nodded to him. Chambers walked over and turned to look through the glass window into Whaley's cell.

"He say anything yet?" Chambers asked.

"No, sir," the agent replied. "Been quieter than a corpse."

Chambers nodded and motioned his head towards the door. Stepping away from it, he instructed, "Open the door."

"Yes, sir," the agent said. He pulled out a set of keys strung around his belt and stuck one into the metal door.

As the agent pulled the door open, Chambers grabbed the agent's own gun out of his holster and pointed it at his side. Before the agent knew it, he had a bullet engraved in his gut and blood dripping out the hole. Touching the wound with his hand, the man looked at Chambers in disbelief then collapsed to the floor. Chambers' face showed no remorse or guilt as he reached at the dead agent's belt. Walking over his fallen comrade's body, he entered Whaley's holding cell.

Whaley turned and stood up to face Chambers. He grinned at Chambers as Chambers handed him the gun and the ring of keys. Whaley grabbed the keys and gun from Chambers' hand and brushed passed him.

"You know what to do," Chambers said as Whaley nodded and hurried out of the holding cell.

Turning back to the dead agent, Chambers bent over his body and pulled out the walkie-talkie in his holster. "This is Director Chambers. Agent down! I have an agent down in the holding cells! I repeat: I have an agent down in the holding cells!"

-Manhattan, NY-

Jay sat at the table in the corner of the room with a can of soda in his hand. Across the room, Tyler laid down on the back with his knees up and his hands folded behind his head. He seemed to be enjoying the cramped luxury of the second-rate motel. Jay, on the other hand, seemed a bit ambivalent and worried. He tapped his long fingernails on the table as he stared out the tiny window. It had been a while since he had the time to cut his nails. He looked down at them, but ignored their length. Suddenly, he jumped at the sound of the door opening and reached for the gun on the other side of the table.

There was no reason for concern, though, as Will appeared from behind the door and locked it. Seeing Will at the doorway, Tyler immediately sat up and looked at him.

"Well?" he asked.

Nodding, Will answered, "It's done. Just two more hours and we move."

"Alright," Jay sighed.

Turning to the door to the bathroom, Tyler squinted and questioned, "Do you think we can trust her? The girl."

Will's eyes moved over to the locked bathroom door and he said, "She's been helpful so far. Time'll tell if she's really on our side or not."

"When I used her computer earlier, I found some files she had saved on there," Jay said. "There was an article she was writing about you, Will – or should I say Stephen." Will looked over at Jay with a shocked but stern expression. "That's your real name, isn't it?"

"I haven't gone by that name in over seven years," Will replied. "Just stick to Will."

Tyler looked back at Jay and asked, "What else did you find?"

"Nothing," Jay said. "I didn't bother snooping around anymore. It seems like she's telling the truth, though. Some of that information she has, no one in the media knows it."

"Then she's dug herself deep," Will muttered as he sat on the edge of the bed.

All three boys suddenly quieted down as they heard the lock on the bathroom door loosen. They watched as the doorknob turned and Allison stepped out with her cellphone to her ear. "Yes, this is her," she said. Scratching the top of her head, she asked, "Who is this?" However, no answer came. A second later, she replied, "Fine. Six o'clock, Between 42nd and Tudor City Place."

"What was that?" Tyler asked as Allison stuck her phone back in her pocket.

"Some guy – a reporter he said – wants me to meet him later," Allison said with a confused look on her face.

"Did he tell you why? Or give you a name?" Will wanted to know.

"He said he has information I need," Allison revealed. "He didn't give a name, though."

"It's a trap," Jay predicted.

Ignoring Jay, Will turned to Allison and said, "You're going to Tudor City and we're coming with you."

"What?!" Jay and Tyler shouted in unison.

"But it's a trap! You know it is!" Jay scolded.

With a smug look on his face, Will asked Jay, "But who's the mouse?"

-----

It was about five o'clock now and the sun was just beginning to set. The bright blue sky was turning a dark grayish blue color as the sun receded. A flock of birds flew up into the air as Marlow walked passed them. She headed into the diner across the street and took a seat in one of the booths near the back. A teenage waitress came up to her with a smile and handed her a large red and white menu.

"Just call when you're ready to order," the girl said.

Marlow smiled back at her and opened the menu, prompting the girl to walk away. As she looked down at the menu, she lifted it in front of her face to conceal her identity. However, she was forced to set it down when she heard the news anchor on the TV hanging above the cash register.

"Two hours ago, an anonymous source dropped off a videotape here at ABC 7. Taped to the videotape were instructions prompting us to play the videotape on our five o'clock news report or suffer the effects of a bomb. So, as instructed we are now going to play the videotape for all those at home," the woman said into the camera.

The woman's image was replaced by the image of three boys standing in front of a window. It was Will, Jay, and Tyler. Marlow's eyes widened and her mouth gaped open at the sight of the boys. The three boys stood still as statues with Will in the center and Jay and Tyler at his sides. Behind their heads, the neon red sign was clearly visible.

"My name is Will Traveler," Will began. "These two men beside me are my friends Jay Burchell and Tyler Fog. Three months ago, we were charged with the bombing of the Drexler Museum. Everyone was told that we set off a bomb destroying the city's most prized art gallery and taking the life of one casualty." Will stared right into the camera with piercing, bleu eyes then declared, "What you've all been told is a lie."

-New York FB Field Office-

A number of FBI agents were crowding around the holding cells. A pair of EMTs laid the fallen agent's body down on a stretcher and zipped up the body bag. Chambers stared at them as they passed by. Suddenly, an agent rushed into the holding cells and pushed the door open. Surprised, Chambers turned to him with a perplexed look.

"Director Chambers, you've got to come see this!" the agent hastily shouted.

Immediately, Chambers headed for the door and followed the agent up into the bullpen. Everyone in the room was staring up at one of the gigantic monitors. Chambers' brow wrinkled as he stared at Will's face on the screen. He walked over to where Agent Mills stood and asked, "What is this?"

Shrugging, Mills replied, "Someone sent them this videotape."

"My friends and I were framed for the bombing. None of you may believe this, but the truth of the matter is that your very own country is at fault for what happened," Will announced. "There is a secret society controlling this nation behind the scenes."

-----

In the back seat of her limousine, Rosalind Freed watched the tiny, plasma-screen monitor hanging from the limo's ceiling. She frowned at the sight and set her glass of scotch down beside her.

"For centuries, since this country was born, there have been men and women pulling the strings that maneuver this nation. These people swore to protect the country and its people, but they have strayed. Soon, you will all see the truth."

-New York FBI Field Office-

"Rex!" Chambers shouted.

Agent Rex was standing in front of the monitors along with several other agents. Hearing her name called, she shoved through them to get to Chambers. "Yes, sir?" she asked as she reached him.

"I want you down at the ABC 7 news station right now!" Chambers ordered. "Get me that tape!"

Agent Rex nodded and turned around to her desk. Picking up her black jacket, she slipped into it and headed across the bullpen.

Turning to Mills, Chambers barked, "I wanna know where that was taped. I want everyone to get on the move and find out where they videotaped that!"

"I know where it is," Mills spoke up. Chambers turned to him with a confused look. "That red sign behind them," Mills said, pointing to it, "I know where it is."

Breathing heavily, Chambers clenched his teeth infuriatingly and said, "Let's move!"

-Manhattan, NY-

"Ready to order?" the teenage waitress asked Marlow.

Setting the menu down, Marlow got up from the booth and said, "Sorry, but I suddenly lost my appetite."

The waitress stared at her with a perplexed look as she gently pushed the girl aside and headed out the diner. Zipping her jacket up outside, Marlow looked down both sides of the street and hurried away.

-----

Allison picked up her backpack and shoved her laptop into it as Jay zipped his backpack up and slung it around his shoulders. They had all changed clothes by now as they gathered up all their belongings. Allison was the only one wearing the same clothes. Jay was dressed in an army green t-shirt, blue jeans, white sneakers, and a black hoodie. Meanwhile, Tyler had changed into a white shirt, brown hoodie, and a gray jacket. Near the doorway, Will slipped his arms into his black jacket. Underneath it, he wore a gray and black striped button-down shirt with blue jeans.

"They're bound to be here soon," Will said as he tied the laces on his white sneakers. "You all know what to do, right?"

"Run as fast as I can," Tyler replied half-jokingly as he strapped on his backpack.

Will looked over at Jay and Allison who both nodded in his direction. Tightening his laces, he stood up straight and unlocked the door. Holding the door open, he looked at his friends and said determinedly, "Let's do this."

-ABC 7 News Station-

Rex burst through the door to the news room at ABC 7's headquarters. One of the workers quickly spun around and ran over to Rex to block her. The three agents behind Rex stopped him, though, allowing Rex to go down the steps towards the producer. Turning around, the producer stared at Rex with an irritated look.

"May I help you?" he asked. Rex flashed him her badge, which he stared at through his thick glasses. "Agent Rex, is it?"

"Yeah," Rex replied. "I want that tape."

"The videotape we just aired?" the producer asked.

"Exactly."

"I can't give that to you. That's ours," the producer said.

"You either give it to me or I arrest you for obstructing justice," Rex threatened.

Shrugging, the producer snapped his finger and said, "Fair enough." One of his assistants hurried over with a black videotape in his hands. The producer snatched it from him and handed it over to Agent Rex. "There you go," he said with a smile.

"Do you know who sent this to you?" Rex wanted to know.

"No, but if I were to venture a guess, I'd say one of those boys you've been after."

"You're telling me no one saw who dropped this off?" Rex asked.

"That's exactly what I'm saying," the producer answered.

Shaking her head, Rex questioned, "Where's the letter? The anchor said there were instructions taped to this."

"Oh yes, I've got that somewhere," the producer replied. He turned to his assistant and shouted, "Bring me the letter they taped to this thing!"

"Are there security cameras around here?" Agent Rex asked as she looked up at the ceiling.

"Yup," the producer replied.

"Will you have one of your assistants or someone lead my men to the security room then."

"Of course," the producer said. His assistant ran back over to him with a folded piece of paper in his hand. The producer took it from him and ordered, "Show those men over there to the security room."

"Yes, sir," the assistant said as he ran over to Rex's comrades.

Agent Rex took the letter from the producer's hand and said, "One more thing. Where was this videotape dropped off?"

"I assume the mail room. One of the mail room boys brought it up to me," the producer replied.

Nodding, Rex thanked the man and headed out the room with the videotape and letter in her hands.

-Manhattan, NY-

Marlow peeked out the corner of the alley between the motel Will and the others were in and the building with the large red sign. Staring out across the street, she saw the place was already crawling with FBI agents and policemen. Chambers and his team hopped out of a large black SUV and hurried into the building. Another group of FBI agents walked towards her direction. Her heart jumping, Marlow hung her head low and headed out of the alley. As the FBI agents passed her by, she started down the street along the path of cars parked on the sidewalk.

Inside the motel, Chambers and his men held their guns close them as they rushed passed the lobby. Agent Mills flashed his FBI badge up at the man at the counter as he led his subordinates toward the staircase. Before following them, Chambers turned to the man at the counter and showed his badge to him.

"I'm Director Chambers of the New York FBI," he introduced himself. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a flier containing the boys' pictures. "Have you seen any of these three boys?"

The man at the counter stared directly at the photos and muttered, "I think I might've seen them earlier. I didn't get a good look, but there were three boys that rented a room with some girl earlier."

Chambers nodded his head and asked, "Do you remember what room they rented?"

"Yeah, Room 45," the man answered.

Nodding, Chambers turned back around to follow Mills and the others up the stairs. At the top of the staircase, Chambers raised a fist to stop them and turned around to give them his instructions.

"Mills, I want you to take some of your men and search this floor," Chambers said. "This place has four stories. Robertson, you and your men take the third floor. Nichols, get back downstairs and search the first floor. I'll take the fourth."

Mills nodded in agreement and waved for a group of agents to follow him through the second floor of the motel. Meanwhile, Chambers and the other agents headed up the stairwell into their designated floors. Chambers finally reached the fourth floor seconds later and pointed his hand in several directions, indicating his men to spread out.

Keeping his hands clasped around the handle of his 10 mm, Chambers led two of his men down a hallway. Searching for Room 45, he kept his eyes peeled. Room 45 sat at the end of a hallway with a window next to it. Chambers turned to the door and pointed his gun at it. Looking at one of his men, he motioned his head towards the door, signaling for the man to knock down the door.

The agent knocked hard against the wooden door and shouted, "This is the FBI! Come out with your hands in the air or we will be forced to extract you!" Chambers stared at the door a moment longer then nodded to his agent.

The man reeled his leg back and thrust it forward, kicking the door wide open. The frame around it shattered and the door swung hard against the wall. The agent hurried in with Chambers leading the other man in after him. Waving their guns all around the room, Chambers and his men found no one left inside. The agent that kicked the door open walked over to the closet and pulled the door open, but there was nothing inside. He turned around and shook his head at Chambers.

"Check the bathroom," Chambers instructed his other subordinate.

The other agent walked over to the bathroom door and reached for the doorknob. As he turned it, the door suddenly smashed into his face, knocking him onto the ground on his back. Across the room, the other agent raised his gun at the figure that burst through the door. He opened fire, but missed and the figure rammed him into the corner. Spinning around, Chambers ran across the room towards the figure. However, he was too slow and the boy hopped out of the window, landing on top of the fire escape. Chambers checked his downed man then hurried over to the window.

Running down the fire escape, Jay took off the hood of his jacket and raced down the steel steps. Looking up through the holes in the stairwell, he saw Chambers climb out onto the fire escape and sprint down after him. Reaching the bottom of the fire escape, Jay pushed the ladder down and slid down with it. Landing in the middle of the alley, he turned and sprinted away from the motel. Turning around, he saw Chambers drop from the fire escape and hurry after him.

Racing up the street, Jay shoved a man in a large coat aside and sprinted across the street. Behind him, Chambers sped up as he crossed the street. A car honked its horn at him as he crossed, but he simply slapped the hood of the car and continued on. Across the street, Jay ran around a group of teenage boys in baggy clothes as he raced away from Chambers.

"FBI! Move!" Chambers shouted as he ran through the group of boys.

Ahead of him, Jay dashed across the busy street to get to the other side. Several cars honked at him; one of them almost even ran him over. Jay ignored them, though, and continued running as his heart started to pound harder and faster. As he ran passed a homeless man asking for change, he turned around to see Chambers heading across the street. Turning right, Jay ran through a crowded park square. A couple sitting on a bench gawked at him as he sped through the square. Jay sprinted around a marble sculpture in the center of the square as Chambers hurried after him. At the end of the square was a small set of stairs. Jay hung onto the railing to keep himself from tipping over as he climbed the steps hastily.

Frenetically charging down the street, Jay breathed heavily and exhaustedly. His legs felt like jelly, but he refused to let them give up on him now. Clenching his teeth, Jay took a deep breath and sped down the street. Several yards behind him, Chambers remained in pursuit. With a determined look on his face, he sprinted down the street and pushed aside a woman and her dog. The dog barked up at him as he raced after Jay.

Stopped at a stoplight, Marlow sat behind the wheel of a black Range Rover. She watched as Chambers pursued Jay down the street and drove on after them.

-----

In between Tudor City Place and 42nd Street was a large overpass overlooking a tunnel several cars and buses entered. There were a few people walking back and forth around the overpass. Most of them were tourists taking pictures of the scenery there. In the middle of all them stood Allison who was clutching her backpack closely to her. Scanning the area, she looked around for whoever had called her. As a giant tour bus sped down on the road below, Allison turned around at the sound of her voice.

"Allison?" a man asked. Behind Allison stood Gabriel. He wore a gray button-down shirt with black jeans.

Allison turned around to face him and asked, "Are you the one that called me?" Gabriel nodded and looked around the area. Surveying the place for Tyler, Will, and Jay, he ignored Allison. "Are you looking for something?"

"No, I'm just seeing if you brought anyone with you," Gabriel said.

"There's no one here, but me," Allison answered. "You have nothing to worry about," she lied.

"C'mon, let's take a walk," Gabriel suggested as he looked around once again.

As Allison walked alongside Gabriel, she didn't notice the men exiting their cars. There were about five of them; three of them hopped out of a van while another parked his motorcycle on the curb and the fifth got out of a black coupe. Holding a cup of coffee, the man in the coupe walked across the street to follow Gabriel and Allison. The man that was on the motorcycle strode across the street and pursued Gabriel and Allison as well. Meanwhile, the three men separated. Two of them walked beside one another on the other side of the street while the other remained a few steps back with his cellphone at his ear.

In a car parked beside the bridge, Will and Tyler watched the men through the dark tinted windows. Turning to Will, Tyler asked, "Why are we still here? They're taking her!"

"Hold on. We have to give them a head start or else they'll notice us," Will informed his friend. He watched as the man on the cellphone crossed the street and walked behind the motorcyclist. The other two men on the other side of the street walked across then crossed again. Nodding, Will said, "Let's go."

Will stepped out of the car and steadily walked down the street with Tyler beside him. As they walked down the frosty overpass, Will whispered, "When we reach the corner of the street, I want you to cross."

"Got it," Tyler replied in a hushed tone. Once they reached the corner, Tyler pressed the button on the traffic pole while Will turned and followed the men pursuing Gabriel and Allison. Once the light across the street turned green, Tyler walked across and turned left.

"Where are we going?" Allison asked Gabriel as they continued down the street.

"Somewhere safe and quiet," Gabriel answered.

"If you wanted to meet somewhere no one would find us then you should've said so. What was the point of meeting at Tudor City for?" Allison wanted to know.

"When you're around tourists, you can easily tell who belongs or doesn't belong," Gabriel said, leading Allison across the street.

"So, what do you know?"

"Just wait. We're almost there."

-----

Exhaustedly breathing, Jay turned left on a corner and sprinted down a hill. Chambers struggled to catch up a few yards behind. As he looked behind him, Jay sped up across the street. Making another left, he could see the overpass between 42nd and Tudor City now. Swallowing, Jay hurried down the street with Chambers getting closer. He could feel his heart was about to burst out of his chest as he raced down the street. Nevertheless, he continued on towards Tudor City.

Behind him, Chambers pushed aside a young man in his way. The man yelled at him, but Chambers ignored him and sprinted down the street. In front of him, Jay leaped over a rail and raced across the street. Chambers did the same. He had been running for several minutes now. Chambers couldn't remember the last time he'd ran for this long. A car honked at him as it tried to switch lanes. Sticking his hand out at the car, Chambers reached the other side of the street and sprinted after Jay.

Finally, Jay took the left that led him down near the overpass. He looked behind him to see if Chambers was still in pursuit. With a sudden burst of energy, Chambers scrambled after him quickly. Forced to speed up, Jay moaned in pain and hurried down the street. A tourist taking a picture jumped when Jay ran in front of him. The tourist held his black camera close to his chest as Jay pushed by and Chambers ran through afterwards. At the end of the street, Jay looked around to figure out which way to go. As he stood there, Chambers got closer and closer. Luckily, Jay saw Will walking down the street to his left. He was several yards away, but Jay felt he could reach him soon. Running quicker than before, Jay raced down the hill after Will.

Further down the street, Will kept a close watch on the men following Gabriel and Allison. The three men on the same street as he was were still separated. There was enough distance between them that if one got separated, no one would notice. Speedily walking, Will walked up behind the man closest to him stuck the blade of his knife into the man's back. The man's clenched his teeth in pain as he felt the sharp, cold blade penetrate his back. Turning to his right, he watched Will walk away after he retracted the blade from the man's back. Feeling his back, the man felt blood rushing out his wound. His eyesight began to blur and he felt dizzy as red blood gushed out his mouth. Soon, his body fell over, prompting a few passer-bys to check him.

Ahead, Will quickened his pace to reach the next man. Glancing across the street, he saw Tyler walking a few yards behind the two men. Assured Tyler would stick to his part, Will edged toward the man ahead of him and flipped the blade out of his switchblade. Hiding it in the long sleeve of his jacket, Will walked up to the man and plunged the blade into his back as he stood waiting beside the crosswalk. As Will felt the man about to collapse, he caught him and discreetly pushed his body up against the trashcan beside the pole. Looking around to make sure no one noticed him, Will crossed the street.

At the end of the street, Gabriel pressed the button for the crosswalk. Scanning the area, he saw the men following them. Nodding to himself, he crossed the street with Allison and led her to an empty park. There was barely anyone there. Aside from the two of them, there was an old man feeding the pigeons and a teenage couple strolling through. Gabriel led Allison to the center of the park, where a tall fountain sat.

"So what do you have to tell me?" Allison asked. She turned to Gabriel with a wondering look, but Gabriel refused to look back at her. "Well?"

Crossing the street, Will looked over at Tyler and nodded. The two boys met at the corner of the street and walked towards the park. Searching the park, Will could see two of the remaining three men watching the park. Will made eye contact with one of them, prompting the man to hop on his feet and run towards them. Tapping Tyler on his chest, Will motioned for him to start running. The two boys sprinted across the park as the three men raced after them. Gabriel and Allison turned to them as they raced across the edge of the park. Ignoring Allison, Gabriel reached for his gun and took off after his brother and Will.

Just as Gabriel ran off after Tyler and Will, Jay reached the park. Allison noticed him and hurried away from view so her father wouldn't see her. Jay glanced at her as he ran by and nodded at her. She nodded back as Jay hurried after Will and Tyler. Behind him, Chambers sprinted across the center of the park. From up the street, Jay could see Will and Tyler hurry into a parking garage about one block away. Sprinting through traffic, Jay reached the other side of the street and headed down the block. A few feet back, Chambers hurried down the street in pursuit of him.

The three men chasing Will and Tyler ran into the parking garage and split off to look for them. All three of them pulled out their gnus and quietly searched the first floor of the parking garage. Looking under a car, one of the men pointed his gun under it. In another aisle of parked vehicles, the other man peeked around the cars. The third man walked around the parked cars as he looked for the boys.

As Gabriel entered the parking garage, he held tightly onto his gun and looked around. Seeing the three men on the first floor, he hurried up into the second floor to search for his brother and Will himself. Reaching the second floor, Gabriel scanned the area for any sight of Tyler and Will. He looked underneath several of the cars, but they were under any of them. Walking alongside the cars, he continued his search.

Meanwhile, below, Jay sprinted into the parking garage. He came to a skidding halt as he saw the three men in search of his friends though. Quietly, he turned right and headed up to the next floor. As he raced up to the second floor, Chambers reached the garage and followed him up. On the second floor, Jay rushed in without noticing Gabriel. As soon as he heard Jay's footsteps, Gabriel spun around and shot in his direction. Surprised by the shots, Jay jumped and ducked. Taking cover behind the cars, he raced across the garage. Keeping his gun trained forward, Gabriel ran in the direction Jay was in. Popping out from behind a car, he aimed his gun forward, but found no one there. However, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a figure appear on the floor. Turning his gun on the figure, he realized it was Chambers. Chambers put a finger up to his lip, though, signaling for Gabriel to be quiet.

At the other end of the garage, Jay jumped to his feet and sprinted away. Chambers opened fire on him, but missed as Jay raced across the garage. He headed up to the third floor next with Gabriel and Chambers right on his tail. Jay couldn't believe he had managed to run at this speed for so long. He felt his body about to collapse as he reached the third floor. Suddenly, he felt a hand clasp around his mouth and drag him away. Looking up, he noticed it was Will pulling him behind a large, red van.

Tyler was crouched down on the ground behind the van's large wheel. Will pulled Jay down with him and crouched with Tyler. At the spot where Will pulled Jay, Gabriel and Chambers appeared. Both of them held their guns forward in a shooting position. Chambers motioned for Gabriel to go in another direction while he went in a different one. Searching the rows of parked cars, Chambers cautiously checked behind a big, brown SUV. As he looked away from it, he heard the alarm of a car going off. Gabriel turned to Chambers and followed him over to the beeping car. As they got close to it, though, another car alarm suddenly went off. Gabriel turned to Chambers then walked over to the second car. While Chambers craned his neck to check the first car, a third alarm went off. He looked out from behind the blue sedan he was checking and was surprised to hear a fourth car alarm go off.

Behind a red sedan, Tyler crept against the wall towards a black Mercedes and slapped its side with his elbow. The car's alarm immediately went off, pulling Gabriel and Chambers attention towards it. In another part of the garage, Jay elbowed the window of a silver coupe, forcing its alarm to activate as well. He hit the car beside it also before hurrying away.

Gabriel headed towards the silver car Jay hit while Chambers walked over to another car whose alarm went off. Training his gun forward, Chambers turned and fired a bullet into the space between the two cars. Unfortunately, there was no one there. However, he felt the cold nozzle of a gun touch the back of his neck as he was about to move forward. Standing behind him was Will who held his USP against the nape of Chambers' neck. Across the garage, Gabriel realized what had happened and aimed his gun at Will. Before he could pull the trigger, though, Jay appeared at his side and pointed his gun at him. Gritting his teeth angrily, Gabriel lowered the gun as Tyler walked up in front of him.

"I don't think we've met yet," Will taunted Chambers as he grabbed Chambers' gun out of his hand. He reached for Chambers' legs as well and found an ankle holster on him. "I'm Will."

"I know all about you, Will Traveler," Chambers replied as he turned around.

"I'm humbled," Will mockingly said as he took Chambers' own handcuffs and grabbed Chambers' arms.

"What do you think you're doing?" Chambers asked as Will turned him around.

"I'm arresting you. What's it look like I'm doing?"

Chambers chuckled as Will pressed his chest against the trunk of a car. "Even if you kill me, they'll still come after you. This doesn't end with me!"

"You think I don't know that?" Will asked as he slapped a handcuff around Chambers' right wrist.

"This won't end well for any of you. No matter what you find out," Chambers taunted as Will cuffed his other wrist.

"Apparently, it won't end well for you either," Will replied. Smirking at Chambers, he said, "You're being kidnapped and your daughter's going to be terminated. How's that feel?"

Chambers grunted and threw his body at Will, but Will grabbed him by the shoulder and slammed him against the car. As Will pressed his USP against Chambers' neck, Chambers growled, "You threaten her again and I will kill you!"

"That wasn't a threat," Will told him. "It's a fact." Chambers glared at Will and opened his mouth to talk. However, Will interceded, "Unless you help us, that is."

"That's too bad," Will muttered as he grabbed Chambers by his handcuffs. He was about to begin moving when he saw a man aiming his gun at him.

"Let go of him, Traveler!" the man from downstairs demanded. Two men entered the parking garage floor with him and moved towards Tyler and Jay. One of the men walked up behind Tyler and pointed a gun at him. Tyler spun around and aimed his gun at him as well. Jay did the same to the man aiming at him.

"You let them go and I'll come with you," Will bargained.

The man aiming at him shook his head and said, "Not happening. You've all been marked."

Will stared at the man as he held his gun to Chambers' head. Listening, he could hear a car coming up the floor quickly. Turning to the entrance to the third floor, he saw a black Range Rover drive up behind the man aiming at him. The man spun around and pointed his gun at the SUV, but Marlow stuck her arm out and fired a bullet into the man's head. The other two men across the garage turned to her in surprise, allowing Tyler and Jay to take cover behind some cars. The two men noticed them running and fired in their direction. Gabriel followed the two men and pulled out his own gun.

Beside the entrance, Will shoved Chambers to the ground and fired at the two men across the garage. One of them fired back at him, but Will got him right in the chest. The man fired off another bullet as he fell on his back. Ducking behind the cars, Jay and Tyler fired back clumsily. However, Jay got Gabriel in the shoulder. The bullet struck Gabriel directly in the right shoulder, forcing him to drop his gun. The other man beside him continued firing, but Marlow shot him from behind. The man dropped the gun as his body keeled over and fell next to Gabriel. Groaning, Gabriel grabbed at his shoulder and applied pressure to it.

"Traveler! We have to go!" Marlow shouted.

This was the second time he'd been saved by Marlow. Will stared at her and nodded as he grabbed Chambers by his handcuffs. From behind, Jay and Tyler hurried over while Will opened the car door. As Will tossed him into the car, Chambers looked into the backseat to see Allison sitting there. Their eyes met for a moment. Chambers almost choked at the sight of his baby girl. Biting her lip to stop herself from crying, Allison turned away from her father as Tyler hopped into the seat beside her. As he climbed into the seat next to Chambers, Jay kicked him to stop him from wrestling him.

"Sit down!" Jay ordered as he strapped Chambers' seat belt in.

Jumping into the front seat, Will strapped his own seat belt on and slammed the door. Turning to Marlow, he nodded, prompting her to back up down the spinning ramp. As she reached the bottom floor, Marlow shifted the car to drive and raced out of the parking garage onto the busy, chaotic road.


	15. Chapter 15: The Rescue

Guest Starring

Frank Mills…………………..Chiwetel Ejiofor

Nicole Rex………………...Rose Byrne

Louis Mitchell……………….Chris Kramer

Otis Whaley…………………Enrique Mitchell

Rosalind Freed………...…...Mary Tyler Moore

Kim Doherty…………………Pascale Hutton

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**Chapter 15: The Rescue**

The New Jersey Turnpike was heavily crowded by hundreds and hundreds of different cars and vehicles driving through the wide, winding lanes. There dozens of different vehicles traveling through the toll road. A motorcycle sped down a lane and switched into the one to its left in front of a blue Lexus. Ahead of the Lexus was a big, white SUV hauling a boat behind it. Beside the SUV drove a white RV that was packed with a large family. The dad driving the van smiled happily as he stepped on the pedal. On the far right of the Turnpike, a large, red semi-truck slowly drove onwards.

The sky above was beginning to turn gray as the sun set under the city of New York. From the Turnpike, people in their cars could see street lights and the lights of buildings start to turn on. Merging onto the Turnpike was a black Range Rover driven by Marlow. In the passenger seat, Will stared outside at a tall, looming structure, whose lights began to turn on one by one. He glanced upwards till he reached the top of the towering building. His attention was turned away from the building, though, at the sound of Chambers' voice.

"If you're going to kill me, just do it now!" Chambers pleaded.

"We're not going to kill you," Jay said. He was sitting right beside Chambers and refused to look at him.

"Then why am I still here?!" Chambers demanded to know.

"You're being kidnapped," Will answered. "What else does it look like?"

"What do you want from me, huh?! You want me to tell you about the people I work for?! Is that it?!" Chambers screamed.

Will shook his head and turned around to face him. "You're going to help us get what we want," Will stated.

"I'm not helping you with anything!"

"We'll see about that," Will replied as he turned back around.

-New York FBI Field Office-

Agent Mills and Rex stood in the center of the bullpen with several agents surrounding them. A raucous of voices rose above everyone's heads as they looked around the room in confusion. Mills tried to shout over everyone, but even his loud, authoritative voice couldn't be heard. Taking his gun, he flipped it around and slammed its butt against the surface of a table several times. Everyone in the room spun around and looked at him with attention.

"Everyone calm down!" Mills instructed. "I am second-in-command so I'll be taking over for Director Chambers temporarily." Clearing his throat, he continued, "I want all of you to just-just calm down and take a breather. We're not going to be able to find Chambers or our boys if we just stand around and scream like this. Alright, people?"

Turning to Rex, Mills sighed at her and shook his head as he walked away from the gathering of agents in the bullpen. Scratching his head, Mills walked over to his office with Rex following him.

"What are you planning to do?" Rex wanted to know. "Chambers is gone. We don't know where Traveler and the others are. What the hell's happening, Frank?"

Mills turned to Rex and raised a finger at her. "Listen to me, Nicole, I don't know what's going on. All I know is Chambers disappeared, same with Traveler, Burchell, and Fog. I'm in charge now! I'll figure out what to do!"

-Manhattan, NY-

Otis Whaley walked up to the third floor of the parking garage Will, Jay, and Tyler had escaped from. He found the three men's bodies sprawled out on the floor, pools of blood surrounding them. Sighing, he reached for his cellphone and dialed a number. He put the phone up to his ear and waited for an answer.

"What's your status?" Rosalind Freed asked from the other end.

"I'm okay, but your boys are dead," Whaley answered. "I'm looking over their bodies right now."

"So Traveler, Burchell, and Fog got away?" Rosalind questioned.

Nodding, Whaley replied, "Yes. They're not here."

"What about Gabriel Fog? He was working with my men."

Whaley scanned the room and said, "He's gone too."

Sighing dejectedly, Rosalind nodded and replied, "Get out of there. Police might be coming soon. We can't let you get caught again."

"Understood," Whaley said. As he turned around and walked away from the third floor, he asked, "What do you want me to do?"

"You'll lay low for now. We can't have you running around without a plan," Rosalind answered. "I'll call back when I have more information."

-New Jersey Turnpike-

"You're sure no one knows about your safe house?" Will asked, staring at Marlow.

Marlow nodded back and said, "If anyone did, I wouldn't be here right now. Isn't that right, Chambers?" She looked up at her rearview mirror and stared at Chambers.

Turning away from the window, Chambers looked at Marlow with a disgusted look. "What do you want from me, Marlow?"

"I want you dead or locked up," Marlow replied. "Either way works."

"Then do it," Chambers taunted. "Kill me right here, right now!"

"Not in front of your daughter," Marlow said, shaking her head. She looked over at Allison through her mirror as well. Allison looked quite frightened as she hugged herself in the backseat. "Besides, if I took a shot at you, I'd be dead myself," she added, looking at Will.

Will looked back at her then turned to Chambers. "Why don't you just shut up?" Will suggested.

"Scared I'll say something you don't like?" Chambers mockingly asked.

Ignoring him, Will turned to Jay and said, "Jay."

Nodding, Jay reeled his left arm back and smashed his elbow into Chambers' face. Chambers' head bobbed back and slammed against the window. His eyelids fell over his eyes a second later and he faded into sleep.

In the backseat, Allison jumped at the sight of her father's head smashing into the window. She bit her lip to stop from screaming and slouched in her seat. Gulping, she turned away from her father's bloody face and looked down at her lap. Next to her, Tyler grabbed her hand and held it gently. She turned to him with a confused look and he smiled back.

"It'll be okay," he whispered. "Your dad'll be fine… just as long as he does what we want."

"And what if he doesn't?" Allison asked grimly.

"We better hope he does then, huh?" Tyler replied.

-Manhattan, NY-

As Whaley walked away from the parking garage, he looked left and right to see if anyone was watching him. Confident he was all alone, he headed up the street. Suddenly, as his feet moved towards the crosswalk, he felt the barrel of a gun touch the base of his spine. Slightly turning his head, he saw Gabriel Fog walking alongside him with a gun to his back.

"What are you doing?!" Whaley venomously asked in a whispered tone.

"Keep walking," Gabriel instructed him sternly. As the two men crossed the street, Gabriel said, "They took Chambers."

"So?" Whaley wondered, obviously disregarding Chambers' importance.

"What are we doing now?" Gabriel wanted to know.

"We're walking," Whaley sardonically stated.

"You know what I mean!"

Smirking to himself, Whaley said, "I've been given orders to stand down for now. No one knows where your brother and his boys took Chambers off to."

"The agent – the woman – she's with them too," Gabriel informed him.

"What agent?"

"The one from the news; the one they said was working with Tyler and his friends."

"Marlow?"

"Yeah. She rescued them. They took off in a black Range Rover."

"Did you get the license plate number?" Whaley questioned.

Gabriel shook his head and said, "I didn't have enough time."

"Do you at least have any idea where they might be going?"

"No. Why do you think I'm here?" Gabriel retorted.

"Then we have to lay low, wait for answers," Whaley said. "Trust me, my superiors will call back when they've got something."

Clenching his teeth, Gabriel impatiently looked around the street. Letting go of the gun, he pulled it away from Whaley's back and stuck it into his holster. Whaley adjusted the black jacket he wore and glanced over at Gabriel as they walked down the street.

-Newark, NJ-

Marlow's apartment was quite small; there was barely enough room for the six of them to sit around. Though there were two bed-rooms, both were quite small and cramped. The living room of her apartment was dirty and messy as well. There were scraps of old magazines and newspapers lying around. Across from the old couch in the middle of the room was a small TV set sitting on top of a brown table. There was an empty glass on top of the table beside the TV.

Dragging Chambers, Jay tossed him down onto the couch and he began taking his jacket off. At the front door, Marlow turned around to lock it while Tyler walked down the narrow hallway towards the living room. As he walked down the hallway, he noticed the large bulletin board stuck to the wall. He stopped for a moment and stared up at it. Next to him, Allison stopped and stared as well. Her mouth gaped open at all the newspaper and magazine clippings and sticky-notes pinned to the board.

"What is this?" she wondered.

"Looks like she's been doin' her homework," Tyler jokingly mumbled.

Ignoring the wall, Will walked passed the two on his way to the living room. Jay was already seated on a chair against the wall. He was leaning over with his elbows propped up on his knees. He turned to Will as Will walked into the room. Pulling off his backpack, Will set it down on one of the chairs positioned at the small table behind the couch. He sat down beside it and gave off a relieved sigh. Tyler and Allison strode into the room a few seconds later with Marlow following in behind them.

"Do you have anywhere we can keep him for now?" Will asked Marlow, motioning towards Chambers.

"I've got an extra room we can put him in," Marlow said.

Nodding, Will replied, "That'll do."

Standing up, Will walked over to the couch and grabbed Chambers by his shoulders. Lifting him up, he pushed the man forward and ordered him to follow Marlow. Marlow turned and walked back into the small hallway. She led Will and Chambers down the hall to the left and into a tiny bedroom at the end of the hallway. There was nothing in the room except for a few chairs and a stack of boxes piled up in the corner. Will sat Chambers down on one of the old, wooden chairs and walked over to the window. Checking it to see if it was securely locked, he shook the window frame. It didn't budge.

"What are you planning to do with him?" Marlow asked Will as he walked back to Chambers.

"You'll see," Will replied. He picked up Chambers and forced him to sit on the ground. Chambers looked up at Will menacingly as Will uncuffed his left hand. Glaring at Chambers, Will muttered, "Don't get too comfortable."

Reaching over with the free cuff, Will hooked it around the back of the heater underneath the window. He pulled on the cuffs a few time to see if the heater would hold. Assured the heater would keep Chambers locked down, Will turned to Marlow and nodded. Uncrossing her arms from her chest, Marlow turned around and exited the room.

Before leaving the room, Will turned to Chambers and warned, "Don't even think about trying to escape."

"Wouldn't dream of it," Chambers tauntingly replied as Will closed the door behind him. As he sat down on the carpet, Chambers tried to wrench the cuffs from the heater. It refused to give, though. Madly gritting his teeth, Chambers angrily banged his fist on the ground and hung his head back against the wall.

Walking back into the living room, Will was met by the eyes of all his companions. He stopped walking for a second, but continued over to the table his backpack was at.

"What's the plan?" Jay asked.

"You wanted Kim back, right?" Will replied. Pointing towards Chambers, Will added, "That's how we're getting her back."

An impressed smirk appeared on Jay's face as he said, "We're exchanging him for her."

"Exactly."

Furrowing her brow in wonder, Marlow stepped forward and stated, "No offense, but you've got someone as valuable as Chambers and you're going to give him up for a girl? Chambers knows more than he's letting on, trust me!"

"Chambers might be a part of this, but we don't need him," Will said.

"You think a journal, some tapes, and a few documents are enough to bring them all down?" Marlow questioned.

"That's not all we've got," Will replied.

"What?" Tyler interceded. "What else do we have?"

Looking up from his backpack, Will answered, "When we get back Kim, we're gonna have a witness – proof at what they're capable of, what they've done."

Inanely chuckling, Marlow covered her mouth and said, "Sorry, but getting that girl back isn't going to give you proof to take them down. They'll just say she's crazy. They can say anything and it'll be the truth."

"Doesn't matter," Will replied. "We don't need to take them down the legal way. There are other ways of bringing them down."

"How do you suggest we do it then?" Marlow asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

Glancing over at Allison, Will answered, "Power of the press."

-New York FBI Field Office-

"Alright. What do we got?!" Agent Mills shouted over the voices of his fellow agents. He entered in from a hallway around the corner with Rex right behind him. Pointing to one of the younger agents seated at his desk, he called, "Howard!"

"No phone calls have been made from Director Chambers' phone in the past two hours," Agent Howard noted. "We haven't been able to reach his daughter, Allison, and his home phone records show nothing significant. A few telemarketers, but no one of interest."

Nodding, Mills turned to an African-American agent across from him on the other side of a computer table and said, "Mason. What about you?"

"We checked traffic cameras and satellite imaging," Mason answered. Mills nodded and followed Mason into a small, crowded room full of computers and video monitors. Parallel to the entrance was a giant screen displaying a blurry image of Chambers running into the parking garage. "This is the last image we could pull."

"He never came out?" Mills asked.

"No, sir," Mason replied. "A few cars have left the garage, but no one on foot."

"Did the cameras pick up anything else?" Mills questioned, frustrated.

"Traveler and Fog were being chased by three men. We couldn't identify any of the men, but we're pretty sure it's Traveler and Fog. Another man appears less than a minute later. Burchell comes running afterwards with Chambers running in last," Mason answered, looking at Mills.

Rex looked at the monitor inquisitively. She made a frown with her face and asked, "Who was chasing Traveler and Fog?" Mason shrugged and turned to Mills for an answer, but he also had nothing to say. Rex furrowed her brow at the monitor longer and asked, "Didn't Anderson and Hall say there was only one person in the motel room?"

"Yeah. It was probably Burchell. He's the only one not with Traveler and Fog when they enter the garage," Mason said.

"Are you sure you can't get a clear image of those four men?" Mills wanted to know.

"We can try going to the parking garage, getting them to let us see their security cameras," Mason said.

Nodding, Mills turned to Rex and said, "Let's go."

-----

Over twenty minutes later, Mills and Rex arrived in front of the parking garage in their black SUV. There were two NYPD squad cars sitting at the entrance of the garage with their sirens on. With a confused expression on his face, Mills walked up to the cars and passed through them. There was a cop inside the garage who stuck a hand out to stop Mills and REX.

"FBI, Special Agent Mills," Mills said as he flashed the policeman his badge.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Agent," the policeman replied. "I'm Officer Willis."

"Nice to meet you, Officer Willis," Mills said as he shook hands with him. Looking around the parking garage, he wondered, "What happened here?"

"Security guard was patrolling the garage, found three bodies on the third floor. Some of our guys are on it upstairs," Officer Willis answered.

"Three bodies?" Mills questioned.

"Yes, sir."

Sighing, Mills turned around to Rex who shrugged in return. The two agents thanked Officer Willis then headed up to the third floor to see the bodies. Before any of the police officers upstairs could stop them, Mills and Rex readied their badges. Walking over to one of the dead bodies lying on the ground, Mills and Rex showed their badges to a man in a brown overcoat.

"How are you, Agent Mills," the man said, shaking his hand. He extended his hand out to Rex and nodded. "Agent Rex."

"Who are these men, Detective?" Agent Mills asked.

"No idea," the detective replied. "They've got identification, but it's all fake."

Mills nodded and asked, "How long have they been dead?"

"No clue. Possibly between an hour and forty-five minutes."

Rex crouched down and surveyed the dead body lying before her. Shaking her head, she looked up at the detective and asked, "Detective Rawls, where's the security guard that found them?"

"He's right over there," Detective Rawls said, pointing to a Hispanic man in uniform standing by another police officer.

"Thank you," Rex replied as she walked over to the security guard. Flashing her badge at the officer beside the guard, Rex said, "I'm Special Agent Rex. I'm with the FBI. Do you mind if I talk with this man?"

The officer shook his head and replied, "No, ma'am. Go right ahead."

"Thank you," Rex said. Turning to the security guard, she extended a hand for him to shake and said, "I'm Agent Nicole Rex. What's your name?"

"Hector Medeiros," the security guard answered.

"Alright, Hector. I understand you were the one who found these men's bodies?"

"Yes. That's right," Hector replied. Nervously shaking, he stuttered, "I-I already answered the detective's questions. Is th-there more?"

"Just one," Rex answered. "Does this parking garage have security cameras?"

-Newark, NJ-

Will walked over to the small table by the couch and zipped up his black backpack. Slinging it around his shoulders, he turned around to leave, but was stopped by Jay's calling.

"Where are you going?" Jay questioned. He sat up and held onto the edge of the couch as he stared at Will.

"I'm going to meet with an old friend," Will said. "I need his help with something."

"I'll come with you," Jay offered, picking up his jacket.

"No, I'm fine by myself."

"You know you don't have to do everything on your own, Will. We are your friends," Jay told him.

Staring back at Jay, Will nodded, defeated, and said, "Fine. C'mon. Hurry up."

Jay turned to Tyler as he slipped into his jacket and said, "Make sure you watch Chambers, okay?"

"I know. I know," Tyler replied, sticking his hands out in front of him.

Jay nodded back and hurried down the hallway after Will. Inside the living room, Tyler and Allison sat on the couch with the TV on. There was a news report of the upcoming Presidential Elections showing on CNN. While Tyler found these types of reports boring, he couldn't help but sit and watch it. Allison, on the other hand, was quite intrigued by these kinds of shows. However, she looked far from attentive as she stared listlessly at the TV. Tyler realized it as well and stared at her with a questioning look.

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

Allison turned to him and shook her head. "No, I'm fine," she said softly.

Tyler could see right through the lie and retorted, "You look pale, your hands are shaking, and your dads locked up in a room down the hall. You're far from fine."

Smiling, Allison timidly replied, "I-I don't know what to say to him. It's like when you're a little kid and you get in some deep trouble, you know. Just the way your parents look at you, it's devastating, especially your dad."

Tyler thought to himself for a moment and chuckled awkwardly. "I know just how you feel," he told her. "But trust me, it's better that you talk to him now. Get the truth out before you're hurt even more."

"The way things are looking right now…I'm not sure if I wanna know the truth." Allison began laughing insanely and put a hand to her forehead. Tyler looked at her face and could tell she was about to cry. As a tear fell down her face, she muttered, "I can't believe I'm saying that. I'm a journalist; it's my job to find the truth. And look at me, I'm too afraid to find it."

Putting a comforting hand on Allison's shoulder, Tyler caressed her and said, "The truth's always a hard thing to learn. You just have to accept it for what it is and do the best you can with it."

Allison nodded and put her arms around Tyler in an embrace. He seemed taken aback by her sudden show of affection. Nevertheless, he put his hands on her back and softly tapped her. Shoving her face into his shoulder, Allison mumbled, "You've been in these situations a lot, huh?"

Tyler stared at the wall emotionlessly and nodded to himself. "Yeah, I have."

-----

Down the hallway, Marlow sat in a chair across from Chambers. She had a look of malice and resentment on her face as she glowered at her former boss. On the floor, Chambers looked up at her and disgustingly stared back.

"What?!" he shouted spitefully.

"Look at you," Marlow whispered. "Look at what you've become." Shaking her head, she continued, "What was it all for, huh, Chambers?"

Chambers scoffed at Marlow and retorted, "You have no idea what I've done."

"You killed Borjes. You framed those boys. I don't know what else you've done, but I'm sure there's a lot more to add to that list," Marlow replied, her arms crossed sternly across her chest.

Chuckling, Chambers replied, "That's not what I meant."

"Then what, huh? What is it that you've done?!" Marlow angrily shouted. She jumped from her seat and stood straight up. Clenching her fists at her side, she was restraining herself from choking the life of Chambers.

"You wouldn't understand," Chambers muttered.

"Try me."

"You don't want to understand," Chambers said. Staring into Marlow's eyes, he added, "You've already painted me as the bad guy. Has it never occurred to you that what I'm doing may be for the good of this country?!"

"Never," Marlow spitefully replied, shaking her head.

Chambers laughed again and stared up maniacally at the stained ceiling. "This country – look around. There are murderers running loose, rapists living among us, thieves riding the same train with us. Worst yet, there are people who disobey the rules, rebel against authority."

"That's not the same thing."

"They're just two forms of evil, one lesser than the other. No matter how you look at it, Marlow, this nation's been going down the drain for a long time," Chambers sighed. "We're working to fix that."

"By blowing up museums, framing innocent kids, and killing people?" Marlow questioned, edging closer to Chambers. "How are you fixing things?!"

Angrily shaking his head, Chambers replied, "Like I said, you wouldn't understand."

"Then I guess you're right," Marlow retorted as she took a step back and sat down.

There was a moment of silence as Marlow glared at Chambers. Chambers lay on the floor on his side, staring at the dirty carpet. He shook his head and muttered, "This nation is changing, Marlow. Are you sure you're on the right side?"

-----

Walking down a street, Will and Jay tried to appear as ordinary as possible. They conversed with one another lively and smiled as they strolled down the sidewalk, passing by a few pedestrians who smiled back.

"Who's this friend of yours anyways?" Jay asked. Newark was quite cold, so he had his hands stuffed in the pockets of his jacket as he walked.

"He's an old training partner – someone I met while working for _them_."

"Then how do you know he can be trusted?!" Jay questioned. He turned to Will with surprise and concern in his voice.

"I don't," Will answered. "But he's the only one that can do this so we're gonna have to wing it."

"Wing it?" Jay repeated. "Will, you're putting everything at stake here!"

Turning to Jay, Will jabbed his finger into Jay's chest and asked, "Do you wanna save Kim? Huh? Do you? Because if you don't, it's fine with me if we just turn around and head back to the apartment!"

Jay glared at Will and shook his head. Sighing, he muttered, "Whatever. Let's just do this."

Will stopped walking in front of a small house lined up alongside several other houses. It was a two-story boarding house with a wooden front door with a window peering into the foyer. Will walked up the front steps of the house and moved his hand up to knock at the door. Before he could knock, though, he noticed the door was already ajar. Turning to Jay, he signaled for him to be quiet and stay back. Reaching down at the gun on his belt, Will eased the door open and stepped inside.

The foyer of the boarding house was quite small and narrow. It led down into a short hallway that split into two other halls. Next to the hallway was a flight of stairs leading to the second floor. Training his gun forward, Will stalked through the foyer and a little bit down the hallway. A few steps behind him was Jay who scanned the house warily. Before Will could decide which hall to take, an arm came out and chopped at his forearms, forcing him to drop his gun. The assailant popped out of the corner and punched Will across the face, throwing him against the wall. In defense, though, Will blocked the assailant's next punch and headbutted him. As the assailant staggered backwards, Will punched him across the face and elbowed him in the gut. The assailant thrust his upper body forward and coughed as Will grabbed him by the collar of his jacket. Will was about to flip the man over, but he blocked Will's arms and pushed him back against the wall. Will tried to lunge at him with another punch, but the assailant blocked again and slammed his elbow into Will's cheek. Throwing Will up against the wall, the assailant grabbed at his throat, but stopped when he heard a gun cocking.

"Don't move," Jay demanded as he held the gun to the assailant's head.

The assailant let go of Will and backed away. He was a man of average height with a cleanly shaven head and a beard of stubbles. Dressed in a loose black t-shirt and jeans, the man didn't look anything like an assassin. Raising his hands up in the air, he backed away with a smirk on his face.

Wiping blood from the side of his lip, Will turned to the assailant and grinned. Pushing the barrel of Jay's gun down, he said, "Jay, this is Louis Mitchell."

The assailant, Mitchell, chuckled a little as he brought his arms down. Rubbing his aching jaw, he smiled at Will and muttered, "It's been a while. You don't punch like a little girl anymore."

-Manhattan, NY-

Agents Mills and Rex stood behind a tiny wall of monitors displaying the security cameras. Hector was seated in the chair in front of the monitors with a keyboard in front of him. He typed something on the keyboard as Mills and Rex looked on.

"So, why wasn't any of this found earlier?" Mills questioned.

"Me and another guard, Rick, are the only ones on duty here," Hector stated. "Not much ever happens here so we don't really pay attention to the monitors."

"So you didn't notice three dead bodies lying on these screens for about an hour?"

"Like I said, we don't pay much attention."

Scoffing at the so-called security guard, Mills asked, "How much longer is it gonna take?"

"Just a few more seconds," Hector replied. Soon, he pressed another button on the keyboard and pointed a pen at the screen. "There you go."

All the monitors before them suddenly changed to show different angles of the parking garage. One row of monitors displayed various angles of the parking garage entrance as Will and Tyler burst in. Mills pointed his finger at the screen to point them out. The three men that were found on the third floor appeared next. The other monitors showed Will and Tyler hurrying up to the third floor while the three men chasing them searched the first floor. The screens displaying the first floor showed Gabriel appearing next.

"Who's that?" Mills wanted to know. Jay appeared on the screen after Gabriel and was quickly followed by Chambers.

"I don't know," Rex replied. "Doesn't look familiar."

Now, the third row from the top displayed Will, Jay, and Tyler inside the parking garage. One of the monitors showed them crawling through the aisles of parked cars with Chambers and Gabriel walking around the floor.

"Does it seem like Chambers knows that guy?" Mills asked as he pointed at Gabriel.

"Yeah. Yeah, it does," Rex said. "Is he one of us?"

"Doubt it. I've never seen him before," Mills answered.

Another screen displayed Will cornering Chambers and putting a gun to his head. Mills stared at the screen intently as Chambers and Will stood there, their mouths moving. A second later, one of the three men appeared with the other two showing up immediately afterwards. Mills and Rex could see them exchanging words again before a black SUV suddenly showed up. The Range Rover stopped at the floor entrance as the man holding Will at gunpoint was gunned down.

Rex suddenly pointed her finger at the driver of the Range Rover and said, "That's Marlow!"

"Are you sure?" Mills asked.

Marlow stepped out of the car and continued firing. "That's definitely her," Rex replied.

"Get the license plate number of that SUV," Mills ordered. Beside him, Rex drew out a notepad and scribbled down the license plate number. As he watched the three men and Gabriel go down, Mills shook his head in disgust. He watched as Will tossed Chambers into the Range Rover and crossed his arms over his chest. A look of fierce determination was plastered on his face as he stared at the wall of monitors before him.

-Newark, NJ-

"How long's it been, Steve?! Six-seven years?!" Mitchell asked as he tossed a can of beer at Will and Jay.

Will popped the top open on his can and took a drink. "It's been about seven."

"Seven. Man it's been a while," Mitchell said, chuckling as he guzzled his drink. "Last time I heard, you were rogue. What are you doing back out in the open?"

Will turned to Jay and answered, "We're trying to fix things."

Nodding, Mitchell laughed and said, "A lot of things need fixin' these days."

Setting the can of beer on Mitchell's kitchen table, Will said, "We need your help."

Sighing, Mitchell took another swig of his beer and replied, "I expected as much."

"You willing to do it?" Will asked.

Mitchell stared at Will. The casual smile on his face started to fade, replaced by a more serious, grim expression. However, he shrugged back and nodded. "As long as this doesn't come back to bite me in the ass."

"Good," Will replied. "Sit down. This is gonna be a while."

-----

Marlow stepped into the living room, where Tyler and Allison still sat. They looked up at her as she walked into the room. Pointing her thumb backwards, she said to Tyler, "Your turn."

Tyler nodded and got up to take his shift watching Chambers. As he stood up, though, Allison grabbed him by his wrist and pulled him down. "What's up?" he asked her.

"Do you mind if I go?" Allison asked.

Shaking his head, Tyler shrugged and said, "Go ahead."

"Thanks," Allison replied as she stood up and walked down the hall.

As he watched Allison leave to tend to her father, Tyler sat back down on the couch. Bored, he leaned against his arm and picked up the remote control for the TV. Next to him, Marlow sighed and stared away into space.

"You know, you surprise me," Tyler said as he changed the channel.

"What are you talking about?" Marlow asked.

"I never expected you to help us out this much," Tyler clarified.

"I never expected this either," Marlow sighed as she leaned back on the couch.

"What made you change your mind about us?" Tyler wanted to know.

"Fate," Marlow answered. "Just turns out I survived getting shot at by a man ordered by my boss to kill me."

"You know we're innocent, right?"

"Seems that way," Marlow replied, sighing.

Silently, Tyler leaned forward and said directly into Marlow's face, "We are innocent."

-New York FBI Field Office-

As Mills and Rex walked back into the Field Office, they carried a small box of videotapes. Pressing a button by the elevator door, Rex and Mills waited for an elevator to come up. As the elevator doors slid open, Rex's face suddenly rang.

"Special Agent Rex," she answered.

"Agent Rex, that Range Rover you wanted an APB out on has reportedly been stolen," a man informed her.

"Since when?" Rex asked.

"Not sure. Over two hours ago I think," the man replied.

Nodding, Rex said, "Thank you." Then to Mills, "The Range Rover they drove out in is stolen."

"No surprise there," Mill sighed as the elevator doors slid open again.

-Newark, NJ-

Standing outside the room that had become her father's prison, Allison started to tremble. Her hand shivered violently as she reached for the doorknob. Her breathing became erratic and her face tightened up as she stared down at the knob. Reaching forward, she was finally able to grasp the doorknob and turn it. Biting down on her lower lip, Allison sucked her cheeks in and pushed the door open.

Inside the room, Chambers expected Marlow to come back and berate him. He sat up to retort her, but was surprised to find his own daughter standing before him. His face sank and his mouth gaped open. Closing the door behind her, Allison leaned back against the door and stared into her father's deep, hazel-colored eyes. Chambers gulped and sat up straight. Struggling, he finally found the words to say.

"How are you, Ally?" he asked. Still standing against the wall, Allison opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Her mouth moved, but no sounds escaped. Sitting, Chambers stared up at her and said, "It's okay. I'm sorry."

Taking a deep breath, Allison murmured, "What-what've you done, Dad?"

"I'm sorry, honey."

Finally letting go of the doorknob, Allison took a few steps forward and screamed, "What did you do?!"

As if he was about to cry, Chambers lowered his eyes from Allison's stare and clenched his teeth. In a hushed tone, he muttered, "I had to. It was the only way."

"Dad, just please tell me what's going on," Allison said. Tears were beginning to well up in her eyes. Sniffling, she added in a weak voice, "I'm scared."

"I know you are, Ally. It's alright," Chambers replied. "I'm not gonna let them hurt you."

"I'm not worried about getting hurt, Dad!" Allison shouted. Gulping, she demanded, "What did you do?"

"I've done horrible things," Chambers whispered. Flashes of dead bodies, kidnapped prisoners, and screaming women and children rained down in his head. Closing his eyes, Chambers tried to shake the images from his mind.

"Dad! Dad!" Allison screamed, bringing her father back to reality. Begging, she said, "Please, tell me what you did?"

"You would hate me if I told you," Chambers muttered, shaking his head.

Allison sniffled again and pleadingly asked, "Are you a part of this? Did you help set up Tyler and his friends?"

Pausing, Chambers stared at Allison. He thought of what excuse to tell her, but only blanks came up in his head. Shaking his head, he replied, "I'm sorry. I had to."

"No…" Allison mumbled. "No. No. No. No! Why?!"

She jumped at her father and grabbed him by the collar of his jacket. Chambers cringed at the sight of his daughter breaking down in front of him. Breathing exhaustedly, Chambers grabbed at Allison with his one free hand and placed a loving hand on her back. Though he was shaking himself, Chambers did the best he could to console his daughter. Embracing Allison with one arm, Chambers pulled her closer to him and kissed her on the top of her head. "It was for the good of the family," he murmured. "It was to protect you."

As he held Allison in his arm, Chambers clenched his teeth to stop from crying. Looking down at his crying daughter, though, he couldn't keep the tears from falling. Closing his eyes, he let out an agonized growl and placed her chin softly against Allison's head.

-----

Sitting on the couch, Tyler's ears perked up at the sound of the front door opening. He hastily reached for the gun by his side and aimed it at the hallway. However, it was only Will and Jay. Calming down, Tyler set the gun back on the couch and stood up. Marlow followed him over to the table where Will and Jay stood.

"Where'd you guys go?" Tyler asked.

"To see someone," Will answered as he set his backpack down.

"To see someone?!" Tyler repeated, obviously baffled. "Who?!"

"You don't need to know," Will replied.

"What do you mean I don't need to know?! Will, tell me who you went to see!" Tyler demanded.

"Just an old friend. I needed his help with something," Will said.

"Help with what?" Tyler questioned.

"I'll tell you later," Will replied. Looking towards the hallway, he said, "Is she in there with him?"

"Yeah," Tyler answered.

"Get her out. I need to talk to Chambers," Will said.

Tyler nodded and turned around to get Allison. Will followed her. In the living room, Marlow turned to Jay who was watching Will and Tyler walk down the hall. She looked back down at Will's backpack and asked, "What did you do?"

"Nothing," Jay said, shaking his head.

"Like it or not, Burchell, I'm your ally," Marlow replied in a stern tone. In a more sincere tone, though, she added, "I can help you."

"I know, Agent Marlow – "

"I'm not an agent anymore," Marlow stopped her.

"Sorry," Jay replied. "I can't tell you. Will made me promise."

"C'mon, you've broken promises before. It's no big deal," Marlow urged.

"I don't break promises to my friends," Jay retorted. Shaking his head, he added, "I'm sorry."

Chuckling, Marlow smiled widely at Jay and nodded. "Fair enough."

-----

As Tyler and Will reached the door to Chambers' room, Tyler reached out to open the door. However, he stopped himself and listened closer through the door. He could still hear Allison's crying.

"Why'd you stop?" Will wanted to know.

"They're still talking," Tyler said.

"So what? Open the door," Will replied.

"No. Just let them talk."

"Get out of the way, Tyler," Will ordered.

"I'm not your little dog, Will! I'm not moving!" Tyler retorted.

Reaching over, Will grabbed Tyler by the collar of his jacket and slammed him against the wall. Tyler raised his arms in surrender as Will glared at him with ferocity in his eyes. Adjusting his shirt, Tyler backed away from Will as he opened the door. Bursting into the room, Will walked over to Chambers and Allison. Both were on the ground embracing. He grabbed Allison by the shoulder and pulled her away, but Chambers held onto her.

"Let her go!" Will demanded.

"What are you doing?" Allison asked as Will tried to wrestle her away from Chambers.

"I said, let her go!" Will shouted. Kicking Chambers away, he pulled out a gun and pointed it at him.

"Stop it!" Allison shrieked as she pushed Will away. Standing in front of her father, she put her hands out to her sides and shook her head. "Stop it! Please!"

Sighing, Will put his gun back in its holster and shoved Allison aside. Looking at Tyler, he ordered, "Take her back to the living room."

"What are you going to do with him?" Allison asked as Tyler put his hands on her shoulders. Will refused to answer; he simply eased towards Chambers. Wrestling away from Tyler, Allison screamed, "What are you going to do with him?!"

"I'm not going to hurt him if that's what you think," Will answered.

"C'mon, Allison," Tyler whispered into her ear. "He's just gonna talk to him. He won't hurt him."

Staring at Will, Allison dragged her feet across the carpet as Tyler pulled her out of the room. As soon as the two left the room, Will pushed the door closed and turned to Chambers. Chambers glared at him as he breathed tiredly.

"What do you want?" Chambers demanded.

"Your help," Will said as he stood before Chambers.

"I already told you, I'm not helping you." Chambers shook his head vehemently.

"You are going to help me," Will said sternly.

Chambers looked up at him defiantly and retorted, "No, I'm not."

Will nodded assuredly and replied, "Yes…you are."

-New York FBI Field Office-

"Agent Rex, the New Jersey PD's got something!" Howard shouted from his desk.

Standing up from her own desk, Rex rushed over to where Agent Howard was and asked, "What is it?"

Howard raised an index finger to her and listened to the person on the other end of the phone. After thanking the person, he hung up and turned to Rex with a harried expression on his face. "The Range Rover's been spotted. It's in the parking lot of an apartment building in Newark."

"Are they sure it's the one?" Rex asked.

"Yup. License plate CTF-438," Howard recited.

Smiling, Rex said, "Call them back. Tell them not to act on it till we get there."

"Yes, ma'am!" Howard replied as Rex turned and ran across the bullpen.

Running over to Mills' office, Rex pushed the door open and grinned at him. "Range Rover's been found!"

"Where?!" Mills asked, jolting up.

"Newark, New Jersey!"

-Newark, NJ-

"Hello?" a woman's voice asked through the speakers of a phone. Her tone suggested she was irritated with the person calling. "Why have you called? Where the hell are you?"

"I'm with Traveler and the others," Chambers muttered.

"What?!"

"They kidnapped me," Chambers replied.

"You son of a bitch," Rosalind Freed cursed. "How could you let this happen?!"

"I let my guard down," Chambers excused himself.

"You let your guard down?!" Rosalind shrieked. She made an angry yell in the background and shouted, "Where are you?!"

"I can't tell you that."

"Why not?!"

"Because Traveler's got a gun to my head."

"I cannot believe what you've gotten us into, Chambers," Rosalind sighed angrily.

"They want a trade."

"A trade?"

"Me for Doherty."

"What happens if I don't approve this trade?" Rosalind asked calmly.

Lifting the cellphone away from Chambers, Will answered, "Then we'll get whatever we want out of Chambers."

"As dimwitted as he is," Rosalind started, "he's loyal to our cause. He'd never give us up just for his own life."

"Good thing we have his daughter then, huh?" Will threatened.

Rosalind ceased talking for a moment. Will brought the phone back down to Chambers' mouth and nodded. Clearing his throat, Chambers continued, "They want to meet at Ramey Airfield in three hours."

Again, Rosalind refused to speak. However, a second later, she replied, "We can't do this in three hours. Doherty isn't even in the country right now."

"You better get moving then," Will said.

"Tomorrow at five AM," Rosalind suggested. "She'll be ready by then."

"Tomorrow, five o'clock, Ramey Airfield. You pull anything shifty, we're gone. Is that understood?"

"Yes."

Without another word, Will hung up the phone and stuck it back inside his pocket. Nodding, he looked over to his left and asked Jay, "You got it?"

"Yup," Jay answered, nodding. In his hand was a small, black recorder. Pressing the play button on the device, he played the conversation for Will who smiled back at him.

-----

A black sedan sped down the streets of Newark with two squad cars alongside it. Their sirens wailed in the air as they raced through the streets toward the apartment building. Mills sat in the driver's seat while Agent Rex sat next to him. Mills had a determined but weary look on his face as he stamped his foot down on the pedal. Turning the wheel sharply to the right, Mills headed down another street. Two minutes later, they arrived in front of the apartment building.

"Right there!" Rex shouted, pointing out the Range Rover.

Cheering, Mills laughed proudly to himself and drove up into the parking lot. Leaving his car outside, he and Rex hurried into the apartment building. The four policemen in the two squad cars exited their vehicles and hurried after them. As they entered the building, Rex looked at the map next to the front door and said, "Landlord's in that room."

She led Mills down the hallway and in front of Room 1. Knocking loudly on the door, Mills shouted, "Sir, this is the FBI. We need to speak with you."

The door creaked open a few seconds later and an Arabic-looking man stepped out. He looked at Mills and Rex observantly and asked, "Yes? How may I help you?"

"You're the landlord, right?" Mills asked. The man nodded. Reaching into his jacket, he pulled out a wanted poster of Marlow and showed it to the man. "Have you seen this woman in this apartment building?"

"No," the man replied, shaking his head. "I've never seen her before."

Mills cursed underneath his breath and turned to Rex. Rex sighed and questioned the landlord, "Are you sure, sir? Take a good look."

Rex took the picture from Mills and pressed it towards the landlord's face. The landlord looked at it again with a scrutinizing eye and shook his head vigorously. "I'm sure I've never seen her."

"Okay. Thank you, sir," Rex replied. "May we still look around the building?"

"Yes. Do as you like," the landlord answered.

"Thank you," Rex said. Turning to Mills, she told him, "He's sure he's never seen her, but we can look around."

"Alright," Mills replied. To the four policemen, he instructed, "I want the four of you to split up and search every floor of this apartment building. Knock on every door. Ask every occupant if they've seen Marlow. We find her, we find the boys!"

-----

Tyler sat with his back against the wall. To his right, Chambers sat beside the heater, staring straight into space. He had a look of defeat on his face; he appeared exhausted and unemotional. It looked like he had gotten older in the few hours he'd spent with Tyler and the others. There was an awkward silence cast over the two men sitting together in the room. Both stared absentmindedly at the walls before them and neither moved. Suddenly, Tyler spoke up.

"You know…she really loves you," he murmured. "She looks up to you a lot from what I can tell." Chambers turned to Tyler, but didn't say a thing. Turning his head to face Chambers, Tyler continued, "I was the same with my dad, but that was a long time ago." Tyler smiled faintly, but it quickly faded into oblivion.

"Your father loves you, Tyler," Chambers suddenly said.

"He was going to have me killed. Great way to show your love," Tyler said sarcastically.

"You don't know the things our generations have had to go through," Chambers muttered. Clearing his throat, he added, "I'm sorry for what's happened."

"No you're not," Tyler retorted.

"You don't have to believe me," Chambers said. Frowning at himself, he uttered, "You'll realize everything once you've become a father." Tyler turned to Chambers with a curious face. Chambers looked back at him morosely. "I want to speak with Allison."

Tyler nodded and climbed to his feet. A few seconds later, the door opened, but it wasn't Tyler that entered. It was Allison. She walked over to the chair in front of her father and sat down in it. "What?" she asked callously.

"Tomorrow, things are going to be a lot different," Chambers said. "You're gonna have to start learning to take care of yourself from now on."

"I can take care of myself. I'm not six anymore," Allison retorted.

Chambers chuckled at his daughter and replied, "No, you're not."

"What do you want?" Allison demanded to know.

"I just want you to know I'm sorry," Chambers answered. "It was all for you."

"I don't even know what you're talking about, Dad," Allison replied almost pleadingly.

Chambers stared at Allison who looked back at him with a sorrowful face. She felt angry with her father, but couldn't help but feel sadness as well. The torrent of emotions welling up in her stomach wrenched at her gut. Chambers could tell there was a lot going on in his daughter's mind. Swallowing, he started, "The Fourth Branch is…"

-----

Throughout the apartment building, the police officers were rasping their knuckles against the hard wooden doors. Simultaneously, the apartments' occupants stepped out of their homes and looked at the posters shown to them. None of them, though, had seen the woman in the poster. The four policemen shook their heads in frustration and disappointment as they hectically ran through the apartment in search of Marlow.

On one of the upper floors, Mills and Rex weren't having as much luck either. Rex knocked on the door of an old woman who weakly opened the door. She stuck her head out and began speaking to Rex, but nothing Rex said was audible to her. Down the hallway, Mills knocked on another door after the man in the room beside it closed his door. A woman in her mid-twenties opened the door and greeted Mills. He showed her the poster, but she hadn't seen Marlow either.

Sighing, Mills walked on to the next apartment room. Knocking loudly, he awaited an answer. Seconds later, the door swung open and a bald, chubby man appeared. "Yes?" he asked.

"Hi. I'm with the FBI," Mills introduced himself. Flashing the man the wanted poster, he said, "I just wanted to know if you've seen this woman around here before."

The man looked at the poster for a few seconds then nodded. "Yeah, I seen her around here before. Doesn't get out much, though," he said.

A triumphant smile appeared on Mills' face and he turned to Rex to wave for her to come. As Rex ran over to him, he asked the man, "Do you know what room she lives in?"

"She lives at the end of the hallway down there," the man answered, pointing his finger at a door at the far end of the hall.

"Thank you!" Mills ecstatically said. Reaching for his handgun, he headed over to the room pointed out by the man. Instead of kicking the door down like he wanted, though, he waited as Rex called the other officers on the radio.

"We have found Marlow. I repeat: we have found Marlow," Rex said. She drew out her pistol as well and smiled at Mills as they stood in front of the door anxiously.

-----

Will sat at Marlow's table behind the couch. All the guns he, Jay, Tyler, and Marlow had assembled were sitting on the table in front of him. He picked up his own gun, the USP, to check to see if it was in proper working condition. Cleaning out the barrel, he looked up at Marlow who sat down across from him.

"You sure this plan of yours is gonna work?" Marlow asked as she watched Will set the barrel down.

"I trust it," Will answered. He put his gun back together and shoved a new clip into it. "Why? Do you have doubts?"

"I've been in many situations where the plan was guaranteed to work and yet it didn't," Marlow said. "Sorry if I'm a little paranoid."

"No apology necessary," Will replied. "I've been in a lot of those situations too; they were kinda required in my field of work." He chuckled to himself and picked up another gun to work on.

"What do you plan on doing once you expose these people?" Marlow wanted to know. "When they're standing on trial, they'll have nothing to lose. They'll come gunnin' for you and all your friends. You know that, right?"

"Of course I do."

"Then what do you plan to do? People that have nothing to lose are the dangerous kind of people there are."

Will cocked the gun of the 9 mm in her his hand and set it down on the table. Looking up at Marlow, he stoically replied, "I have nothing to lose either."

-----

Finally, the four policemen arrived on the fourth floor of the building. Drawing out their pistols, they aimed them directly at the door as Mills stepped in front of the door. Everyone trained their guns on the front door as Mills balled his fist and knocked on the door.

-----

From the table, Will could hear a knocking on the door. Lifting his head up, he reached for his USP and flipped the safety off. Marlow put a hand out in front of her to calm Will down, though. At the couch in front of them, Jay and Tyler exchanged glances as they listened to the loud rasping at the door again. Reaching behind her back, Marlow slowly walked down the hallway towards the front door. Stuck behind her back was a 10 mm handgun. Grabbing the doorknob, she turned it and opened it.

"Hi, you ordered a pizza, right?" a teenage boy in a red outfit asked. In his hand was a large, red bag containing boxes of pizza.

Sighing, Marlow stuck her hand down her back pocket for a wallet and opened it. "Twenty-nine fifty, right?"

-----

Mills knocked on the door again, but there was no answer. Counting down from three, Mills held his gun close to him. At 'one', he struck the door hard with his foot, flinging it wide open. Hurrying into the apartment building, Mills waved his gun around in front of him. Rex entered afterwards and stalked down the hallway. Mills followed after her while the four policemen secured the rest of the apartment.

"Who are you?!" an African-American woman asked from her bedroom.

Mills turned to her with his gun, but lowered it as he saw her face. There was some resemblance to Marlow, but it was obvious it wasn't her. Shaking his head in disappointment, Mills kicked the wall and holstered his pistol.

-----

After thanking the pizza boy, Marlow closed the door behind him and headed back into the living room. She set the three boxes of pizza on the table. Will moved all the guns away from the table and set the bag down on the floor. Hungry from the long day, Tyler and Jay hurried to their feet and grabbed at the boxes of pizza. Will laughed as he watched his friends wrestle for the largest piece. It felt like they were in college again. Shaking his head, he grabbed one of the pieces of pepperoni pizza and took a big bite.

"Hey," Allison said as she entered the living room.

"How are you, honey?" Marlow asked as she put a comforting hand on Allison's shoulder.

Nodding, Allison replied, "I'm okay."

Marlow nodded back and waved at the pizza boxes. "I ordered pizza. You should sit and eat. It's gonna be a while till you can do this again."

Smiling, Allison grabbed a paper plate and opened one of the pizza boxes. She was going to grab a pizza, but Tyler shoved a plate of two pieces of pizza at her. She smiled at him and whispered, "Thank you."

As Allison turned to walk back to Chambers' room, Will called, "You should get some for your dad. He should be hungry."

"Okay," Allison nodded. She went back to the table and picked up the plate she had before. Tyler reached over and opened the pizza box for her. Smiling, she grabbed two pieces of pizza and headed back into the hallway.

As he sat down with a pizza in his hand, a sudden smile appeared on Will's face. He took another bite out of his second pizza as Tyler reached for a third. Stuffing his mouth with the rest of his crust, Jay lifted one of the boxes up and grabbed another piece. From the couch, Marlow looked on happily as she finished the rest of her first piece.

-----

The next morning, the sky was painted a purplish orange. Day and night mixed to form a horribly beautiful color in the sky. Shreds of darkness streaked parts of the illuminated sky. The large moon was still quite visible as Will stood outside of a white Nissan Murano. He leaned against the grill of the car with Jay and Tyler standing at his sides. The three of them stared up at the quiet, bright sky as another car appeared in the distance.

Ramey Airfield was a rather small airfield. Its hangar was small compared to most, but its runway was quite long. The boys' Murano was parked at one end of the runway while the black SUV appeared on the other end. Will observantly watched the SUV as it stopped about fifty yards away from them. Beside him, Jay anxiously waited to see Kim. His heart skipped as he saw the doors of the SUV swing open. Next to him, though, Will appeared wary as he held onto the handle of his gun.

Stepping out of the black SUV were four men. They all slammed their doors shut except for one. The man sitting in the backseat reached into the car and pulled out a young woman with dirty blonde hair. It was Kim. She looked nothing like how Jay remembered her, but she was still beautiful. There were several scars and bruises on her body, though. Clenching his teeth and his fists, Jay watched as the men dragged Kim down the runway.

Dressed in a white tank top and blue jeans that were too big for her, Kim staggered down the runway alongside the men escorting her. At first, her sight was blurry and she could barely make out the dark figures at the other end of the airstrip. As she got closer, though, she began to realize who was standing only several yards away. At the sight of her beloved Jay, she started to run towards him. However, one of the men pulled on her wrist and wrestled her down.

"Kim!" Jay screamed.

The four men suddenly stopped walking. Behind them, Kim was still struggling to get free. One of the men stepped forward and shouted, "Where's Chambers?"

Will turned around and tapped his hand on the windshield. Inside the car, Marlow grabbed Chambers by the chain of his handcuffs and opened the door. The two of them stepped out and Marlow showed Chambers to the men.

"Let him loose now!" the man ordered.

"No way!" Will shouted back. "They go at the same time!"

The four men exchanged glances and nodded. The man holding onto Kim let go of her wrist, allowing her to sprint across to Jay. Meanwhile, Marlow took a key and uncuffed Chambers' wrists. Before she let Chambers go, though, she forced him to turn around.

With a spiteful look on her face, she spat, "We're not done yet."

Nodding reluctantly, Chambers said in a collected tone, "Yes we are."

Rubbing his itching wrists, Chambers walked passed the boys. Turning around one last time, he looked over at Will who looked back and nodded. Licking his dry lips, Chambers nodded silently to himself as he continued up the airstrip.

-----

Sitting in a white sedan outside of another airfield was Allison Chambers. She sat in the driver's seat with the back reclined. On her lap sat her laptop. Her fingers tapped away rapidly across the board. As she sat inside the car, she heard another car pulling into the airfield. Looking out the window, she hurriedly typed away on her laptop. Seconds later, she pressed the period key and smiled proudly at her work. However, she was not done.

Scrolling to the top of the screen, she highlighted the title of her article – _Who is Will Traveler?_ – and deleted it. In its place, she typed: _What is the Fourth Branch?_ Grinning, she pressed save at the top of the screen and attached the file to an email addressed to her journalism professor. As soon as the email was sent, she turned the laptop off and closed it.

Suddenly, a knock came at her window, shocking her. Putting her hand over her heart, she chuckled at herself and opened the door. Stepping out the car, she was greeted by a man smiling at her. It was Mitchell.

"You heading to Switzerland?" he asked.

"Yes, sir," Allison replied, smiling.

"Good. It's nice to meet you. I'm Louis Mitchell."

"Allison," she said, extending her hand. Mitchell nodded and smiled at her as he shook her hand.

"Alright. We should get goin' then," Mitchell said. "I hear a lot of people are lookin' for you."

Allison laughed at the thought and followed Mitchell into the hangar. There was a small plane waiting there for them. As she approached the plane, she asked, "How's Switzerland?"

"Good. Good. I've only been there once myself. It was a pretty fun trip," Mitchell answered with a sincere smile. He pulled the door open and hopped into the small airplane.

"That's nice," Allison replied. There was a reluctant but happy smile on her face as stepped onto the stairs and walked up to the entrance of the plane. Taking one last glance outside the plane, Allison warily entered the plane, prompting Mitchell to pull the door back up, closing it.

-----

As Kim ran passed Chambers, she turned to look at him. A confused, wondrous expression appeared on her face. Noticing her, Chambers looked up and glared at her. She looked away from him, though, and hurried over to Jay. Once she reached him, they enfolded one another in a warm embrace. The brightest smile Will and Tyler had ever seen appeared on Jay's face as he wrapped Kim around in his arms. The two friends couldn't help but smile at their other best friend's happiness. Even Marlow appeared to be smiling a little bit.

Down the runway, Chambers slowly strode towards the four men awaiting him. As he reached them, he let out a sigh. One of the men grabbed him by his arms and turned him around. Sticking a pair of handcuffs on his wrists, the four men dragged Chambers away into the SUV.

At the other end of the airfield, Jay and Kim exchanged a heartfelt kiss. Kim held Jay close to her as tears streamed down her eyes. Joyously, Jay lifted Kim's feet up off the ground and held her tightly in his embrace.

"I'm so sorry," he wept. "I've missed you so much."

"I've missed you too," Kim replied, kissing Jay on the cheek.

"I promise," Jay said, "I'll never let anyone hurt you again."

"You promise?" Kim asked,

"You know I keep my promises," Jay replied, smiling widely. Kim giggled at him and planted another kiss on his lips.

"Sorry to break up this reunion, but we've gotta get goin'," Will said as he tapped Jay on the shoulder.

As she loosened her grip on Jay, Kim looked over at Will. She hadn't seen him in so long and felt surprised to see him. She was almost frightened at the sight of him. Holding onto Jay's hands, she squeezed them as Will looked back. Smiling at her, Will muttered, "Nice to see you too, Kim."

He then pulled the driver's side door open and hopped into the seat. Sticking the key into the ignition, he started the car as Tyler got into the passenger seat. Marlow got into the seat behind Tyler. Pulling the backseat door open, Jay helped Kim into the car before seating himself. Across the airfield, the black SUV was beginning to drive away. Shifting into drive, Will turned the car around and sped off. The sound of the Murano's thick tires grinding against the packed dirt echoed throughout the empty valley. A flock of crows pecking at the ground lifted themselves up into the air as the Murano sped through down the road leading into the dark abyss of the woods.

-----

Parked atop a hill looking over the airfield was a silver Pontiac Grand Prix. Sitting in the driver's seat was Otis Whaley. He stared down at the airfield below as the white Nissan drove away. Outside the car, Gabriel brought the binoculars down from his face and turned to Whaley.

"Well?!" Whaley called from his seat.

Gabriel nodded back and shouted, "It's them! Let's go!"

Hurrying, he jumped into the passenger seat as Whaley backed away from the edge of the hill. Shifting into drive, the silver Grand Prix hurtled down the hill, sending dust and gravel packing through the humid air. Above, the clouds were beginning to part as the hot sun birthed a new day.


	16. Chapter 16: The Exposed

Guest Starring

strSorry for the long wait folks. I hit a major road block while writing this chapter. Since I considered this the season finale for the second season, I really wanted it to be a thrilling and special chapter. While I got through the first act without much trouble, I got some writer's block while trying to finish the remaining acts. It wasn't that I wasn't motivated to write, but it was more because I couldn't figure out a good, natural way to write out what would happen. Also, I got fairly busy throughout the month. Hopefully, this chapter is up to snuff and still fits as a good season finale. 

Also, since I was planning on taking a break between this chapter and the next, which would start Season Three, but I basically took a month-long break, the hiatus between Chapters 16 and 17 won't be as long. You guys will only have to wait about two weeks or so if everything goes smoothly. Again, sorry for the gigantic wait and hope you enjoy this chapter.

Guest Starring

Frank Mills…………………..Chiwetel Ejiofor

Nicole Rex………………...Rose Byrne 

Otis Whaley…………………Enrique Mitchell

Rosalind Freed………...…...Mary Tyler Moore

Kim Doherty…………………Pascale Hutton 

Daniel McCarthy……………Paul Adelstein

**Chapter 16: The Exposed**

Lying in Jay's arms, Kim stared through the windshield between Will and Tyler's heads. She watched as the road zipped passed them and the line of trees on both sides moved around them. Squinting, she tried to look away from the sun shining in through the tops of the trees. It had been so long since she had seen sunlight that it was almost painful to witness again. Whimpering, she buried her face in Jay's chest. Noticing her uneasiness, Jay put a hand to the back of her head and stroked her stringy, dirty blonde hair. It felt nothing like how it used to feel. Jay could pass his fingers through the strands, but now, his fingers got caught in the tough, coarse nest. Nevertheless, he kissed the top of her head and kept her close to his body. 

"It's okay," he whispered gently into her ear. "You're with me now. Everything's okay."

Kim brought her head back up and looked at Jay with a beautiful smile. It even hurt to smile; her lips had cuts over them that opened whenever she moved her mouth too much. Struggling to flash Jay a bright smile, she held back the tears from the pain. Jay smiled back at her; he could feel tears welling up behind his eyes. 

"Where are we going?" Tyler asked in the front seat. 

"We have to make another video," Will answered. "We need as much attention as possible to expose the Fourth Branch." 

"I don't know if Kim's ready to do this yet," Jay said, looking up at his friends.

"Do what?" Kim muttered.

"We need your help," Will told her. He glanced back at her for a second, but turned his attention back to the road. "You're gonna have to testify about what you've been through – what they put you through."

"I-I can't do that," Kim stuttered. Hysterically, she shouted, "I can't!" 

"If you don't do this, then we can't show them the truth!" Will retorted. 

"You don't know what I've been through!" Kim screamed angrily. She let go of Jay and lunged towards Will. She clawed at him with her long nails, scratching the side of his face. Surprised, Will swerved towards the side of the road, but regained control of the vehicle. 

"Stop it! Kim!" Jay shouted as he wrestled her back. Restraining her arms, Jay pulled her back towards the seat. Breathing heavily, she started to cry again and lay her head against Jay's shoulder. Turning to Will, Jay asked, "Will, can we not talk about this right now?"

Will stared straight through the windshield as he gave off an irritated but abiding sigh. Nodding, he replied, "Fine. We'll find somewhere to stop by for now and lay low."

"Thank you," Jay said, nodding his head. Stroking Kim's hair, he closed his eyes and sighed as he laid his head against the cushion. 

"Traveler, there's a car coming," Marlow warned. Her head was turned towards the rear windshield; she was staring at the silver Pontiac coming down the road towards them.

"Can you see who's driving?" Will asked as he looked through the rearview mirror.

"No," Marlow replied, shaking her head. "Windows are tinted. It's coming fast, though."

"Hold on," Will said as he stomped on the gas pedal. 

The car accelerated forward quickly and charged down the empty roadway. Behind, the Pontiac sped up as well. It almost rear-ended the Murano. With a determined look on his face, Will held his foot against the gas pedal. The Pontiac continued approaching, though. It finally rammed the rear bumper of the Murano, sending Will and everyone's head whipping forward then backward. Gritting his teeth, Will swerved to his right, narrowly avoiding the Pontiac. 

As he drove onward, Will turned his face towards the Pontiac. He watched as the passenger side window lowered and Gabriel revealed himself. Quickly, he pulled out a handgun and fired it at Will. Ducking, Will evaded the bullet that shot through his window. In the backseat, Kim shrieked as glass flew everywhere. Marlow ducked behind the door as well while Jay covered Kim with his arms. In the passenger seat, Tyler slumped in his seat as he listened to the bullets entering the cabin of the Murano. His body jumped as a bullet struck the ceiling of the cabin. 

Lifting his head a little to look at his side mirror, Will turned the wheel sharply to the left, slamming the side of the car into the Pontiac. Whaley held onto the steering wheel and hit the brakes, causing the car to slide along the ground. As the Pontiac skidded away from the Murano, Gabriel fired another set of bullets at his brother and his friends. Will drove the car onto the shoulder of the road to avoid the bullets and continued down the highway. 

Behind Will's seat, Marlow cocked her handgun and lowered her window. As Whaley and Gabriel got nearer, Marlow opened fire, shooting a bullet into the windshield. The Pontiac suddenly swerved to the left as Whaley felt a bullet enter his right arm. Grabbing onto it with his other arm, he turned the wheel towards the Murano. Ramming the side of the Murano, Whaley ordered Gabriel to shoot at their targets. Raising his gun to Marlow's window, Gabriel opened fire. 

Marlow ducked back down, though, as soon as she saw the barrel of the Colt. A bullet slammed above her head, causing Kim to jump. Gabriel fired more bullets into the Murano, but stopped as Will rammed the side of the Murano into the Pontiac. The Pontiac swerved to the left a little and slowed down. Will kept his foot on the gas pedal, though, accelerating the car further down the road. Coming up from the right, Whaley slammed the front bumper of his car into the Murano's rear bumper, causing it to fishtail. Will quickly turned the wheel to stop it from losing control and tipping over and tried to ram the Pontiac. However, Gabriel aimed through Whaley's window and fired another shot at the car. The bullet struck the Murano on Tyler's door. 

"Tyler, shoot at 'em!" Will instructed. Snapping his head to his friend, Tyler shot him a confused and shocked look. Will noticed his friend gawking at him and shouted, "Do it now!" 

Nodding hastily, Tyler grabbed his gun and aimed it out his window. Shakily aiming, he fired at the Pontiac, but missed. As Whaley attempted to ram the Murano again, Tyler fired as many shots as he could. He heard three bullets hit the car, but it did nothing to faze them. Cursing under his breath, Tyler reloaded his gun as the Pontiac slammed into his side of the car. Rocked from the hit, Tyler dropped the extra magazine to the floor. Reaching over, he hurriedly picked it up as the Pontiac slammed into them again. Finally, he loaded the gun and cocked it. Quickly, he aimed the gun outside the car and fired. Before he could fire, though, he felt Will losing control of the Murano. 

"Shit!" Will screamed as he tried to gain control of the car. 

A bullet had penetrated the front right wheel, causing the car to slow down and lose control. Will started to hit the brakes, but his body was thrown aside as the Pontiac slammed into them again. Clenching his teeth, Will hit the brakes and maneuvered the Murano towards the shoulder of the road. Unfortunately, the Pontiac charged at them again and slammed into their rear bumper. 

"Hold on!" Will shouted over the sound of the wheels grinding against the road. 

Grabbing onto his seatbelt, Will managed to stick it on as the Murano was thrown off the road. It skidded through the shoulder then slid into a ditch. Will tried to stop the car with the brakes, but nothing would work as the Murano uncontrollably fell down the hill. Lifting up the emergency brake handle, Will managed to stop the car just as it crashed into a tree. 

The front bumper of the Murano looked to be falling off and the hood was popped crookedly. The driver's side door was mangled and the windshield had a giant crack going across it. Steam poured out the hood as Will opened his eyes. Exhaustedly breathing, he looked around at his friends. To his right, Tyler had a harried look on his face as he held onto his seatbelt. In the backseat, Jay's head was up against his window while Kim's was still on his chest. Next to them, Marlow groaned and grabbed at her head as she awoke. Pointing to the door, Will instructed Tyler to open it. Pushing the door open, Tyler fell out of the car. Will followed and landed beside Tyler. Climbing to his feet, Will pulled Jay's door open and pulled his friend out. Tyler grabbed onto Jay as Will reached back inside for Kim. Picking her up, he pulled her out the car and set her body on the ground. 

"Marlow, are you alright?!" Will asked as he extended his hand out to her.

Nodding hazily, Marlow grunted, "Yeah, I'm okay." She grabbed Will's hand and dragged herself out of the car. 

As he helped Marlow out the car, Will looked back up to the top of the hill. Turning to Tyler, he asked, "How are they?" 

"They're alright. They're awake," Tyler replied, breathing heavily. 

Will nodded and said, "We have to get moving. They're bound to come for us." 

Tyler nodded in agreement and helped Jay to his feet. Jay grabbed at his neck and pressed hard against the side of it. Clenching his teeth, he staggered over to Kim and helped her up. "Are you okay?" he asked worriedly.

"I-I'm fine," Kim stuttered as Jay helped her to her feet. 

"C'mon, we have to move," Jay told her as he led her away from the crashed Murano. 

Sitting in the backseat of the large SUV, Chambers observed the faces of the men around him. The agent to his right was short and stocky with a round face and cold, blue eyes. His dark brown hair was short and neat. To his left sat another agent. He was tall and burly with a bald head and green eyes. His face showed no emotion and he didn't even appear to be breathing. The man driving the SUV appeared tall and lean with an almost skeletal face and a black goatee hanging from his pointy chin. Like the rest of the men, he was dressed in a solid black suit. Beside him in the passenger seat sat a calm, precocious-looking man. He stood at about six-foot-two-inches and was of average size. The hairline on his dark brown hair appeared to be receding, but he was clean-shaven and handsome. 

"How are you doing, Agent Chambers?" the man in the passenger seat asked in a calm, watchful voice.

"Who are you?" Chambers asked, ignoring the man's question.

Smiling to himself, the man in the passenger seat replied, "My name is Daniel McCarthy. I'm an associate of Mrs. Freed." Turning to his companions, he added, "These men are my… compatriots." 

"Where are you taking me?" Chambers questioned.

McCarthy turned to Chambers with his piercing but calm blue eyes. Smirking at him almost tauntingly, the man said, "You've cost our people a lot of trouble, Agent Chambers. You have a lot to make up for."

"Where are we going?" Chambers asked again. Then, jiggling the chain on his cuffs, he demanded to know, "And why am I in handcuffs?!" 

Wiping the smile off his face, McCarthy looked at Chambers sternly and demanded to know, "Where is your daughter?"

Knowing this question would come, Chambers calmed down and slumped back in his seat. Slightly shaking his head, he answered, "I don't know."

"I believe you do," McCarthy replied, smiling creepily again.

"I told you, I don't know where she is!"

"Our intel reports that Allison was last seen with Traveler, Burchell, and Fog," McCarthy relayed. "Where did they hide her?"

"I'm telling you, I don't have any idea where she is!" Chambers pressed, his mad eyes bulging out of his head.

McCarthy shot Chambers a disappointed and stern look. Turning back around, he let out a sigh and nodded his head to himself. In the backseat, Chambers turned away from the man and wearily looked down at his feet. 

Gabriel and Whaley trudged through the field till they reached what appeared to be an abandoned hunting lodge. The lodge was rather big; it was only one story tall, but it took up a large portion of the clearing. Scanning the area, Gabriel noticed tracks around the dirt ground in front of the lodge. Whistling to Whaley, he pointed at the ground. 

Whaley nodded back and said, "You go around back. I'll take the front."

Nodding in agreement, Gabriel walked around Whaley and headed to the back of the lodge. There was a small, hand-built porch with steps leading up to the back door. Carefully and slowly, Gabriel crept up the wooden steps to the door. There was a small window there, but the curtains behind it hid whatever was inside. Grabbing onto the doorknob, he turned it quietly. As soon as the door was open, he flung it forward and aimed his gun into the kitchen of the lodge. Spinning around, pointing his gun in every direction, he found no one in the kitchen. All there was were some old pots and pans hanging near the sink with a stove and a small oven. 

Around the front of the lodge, Whaley turned the doorknob slowly. He kept his gun pointed forward as he gradually pushed the door open. Throwing the door open, he pointed his gun forward and looked around the wooden lodge. There didn't appear to be anyone there. Suddenly, a hand came flying at Whaley's right arm. He turned around to fire the gun, but Will grabbed a hold of his right forearm and twisted it at the elbow. Knocking the gun out of Whaley's hand, Will threw his arm against the wall and punched him across the face.

From the kitchen, Gabriel snapped his head to the left to see Will attacking Whaley. He shot a bullet at Will, but it missed and hit the door, sending splinters flying around. Will ducked as the bullet came at him and punched Whaley in the gut as he rose back up. Staggering backwards, Whaley balled his hands into two fists. He threw a punch at Will as Will lunged at him, but Will caught his fist and drove his elbow into the side of Whaley's face. Whaley's head cranked to the left as Will elbowed him again. Grabbing onto Whaley's jacket, Will pulled his body towards him as he kneed him in the gut twice. Coughing, Whaley tried to get out of Will's hold. Relentlessly, though, Will held onto Whaley and punched him twice across the face. As blood spewed out of his mouth, Whaley staggered to the floor. Will ran at him with a punch, but Gabriel appeared at the other end of the room and aimed his gun at Will. Stopped in mid-step, Will held his fist in the air and glared at Gabriel as Gabriel prepared to shoot him down. 

Before Gabriel could pull the trigger, though, he noticed a golden vase flying at him from down the hallway to his left. Covering his head with his arms, he was thrown back against the wall as the vase hit him. Aiming his gun forward, Gabriel readied another shot. His eyes widened as he saw Tyler charging down the hall at him. Hastily pulling the trigger, he fired a bullet passed Tyler's face as Tyler slammed his own body into Gabriel's.

Inside the living room, Whaley punched Will across the face, sending him into the back of a couch. Spinning around, Will threw a punch at Whaley, but Whaley blocked with his left forearm and punched Will in the gut. Clutching Will's collar, Whaley threw another punch at his opponent's face. Will defended himself, though, and headbutted Whaley, knocking him backwards. As soon as Whaley let go of Will's face, Will hurried at him with a punch. Getting him with a hook to the elbow, Will grabbed him by the back of his neck and threw him against the wall. He drove another elbow into Whaley's gut and slammed his head back into the wall, forcing blood to fly out of Whaley's mouth. In a matter of seconds, Whaley's body collapsed to the floor at Will's feet. 

Behind Will, Tyler and Gabriel were wrestling for the gun between them. Gabriel held tightly onto Tyler's left arm, but Tyler struggled towards the gun with his other arm. He nearly reached it, but Gabriel slammed an elbow into his brother's spine. Groaning in pain, Tyler arched his back. Reaching over Tyler's body, Gabriel almost got a hold of the gun, but Tyler threw his elbow back into Gabriel's face. Pushing Gabriel off, Tyler dove towards the gun. Before he could reach it, though, Gabriel pulled on his leg, forcing him back onto the floor. Jumping onto Tyler's back, Gabriel applied a headlock on his brother. Choking the breath out of Tyler's lungs, Gabriel clenched his teeth and gripped his fingers together. Gasping for breath, Tyler hectically clawed at the wooden floor. The only thing he could get his hands on was a piece of the shattered vase. Picking it up in his hand, he sliced Gabriel's right forearm open. Screaming in pain, Gabriel let go of Tyler, allowing Tyler to crawl forward for the gun. 

Climbing to his feet, Tyler aimed the gun down at Gabriel as Will ran over to join him. From the end of the hallway, Marlow popped out with Jay and Kim behind her. She led them down the hallway and out the back door as Will and Tyler stared down at Gabriel. Lifting his arms up in surrender, Gabriel turned away from his brother's glare. Breathing heavily, Tyler kept his gun trained on Gabriel. A trance seemed to have taken over him as he shakily held the gun to his brother. He was pulled out of it, however, by Will who tapped him on the shoulder and pulled on his arm. 

"Let's go!" Will said sternly.

Snapping out of his trance, Tyler nodded and turned towards his friend. The two hurried out the back door and raced away from the lodge to catch up with their friends. 

-New York FBI Field Office-

Mills paced back and forth through the bullpen as he spoke to someone on the video monitor. Seated at her desk, Agent Rex rested her head against her fist as she listened to Mills' booming voice. To her right was a large screen displaying a bald man with a pair of glasses. He was dressed in a nice, ironed, black suit with a matching red and black striped tie. His hands were folded in front of him as he listened to Mills who seemed more than agitated. 

"We don't have any idea where Chambers is," Mills admitted. "Our last lead was the Range Rover he was spotted being thrown into, but that led us nowhere."

"Well what do we know, Agent Mills?" the bald man asked in an authoritative tone.

"All we know, sir, is that Traveler, Burchell, and Fog are working with former Special Agent Jan Marlow. They kidnapped Chambers and have taken him somewhere," Mills answered. "We have no more leads, sir."

"Have you contacted all of Chambers' family members? Maybe our targets called someone to exchange a ransom trade," the bald man suggested. 

"We've spoken to all of Chambers' known relatives. None of them have heard anything," Mills replied.

Raising her finger, Rex interjected, "We were, however, unable to contact Director Chambers' daughter, Allison." 

"I see."

"Sir, there's one more thing I think I should say," Rex said. Mills immediately turned to her with a perplexed expression.

"Go ahead," the bald man permitted her.

"When we cornered Traveler, Burchell, and Fog at the Yale Art Gallery, Allison Chambers was with them, sir," Rex revealed.

"Why was no one notified of this?" the bald man asked angrily.

Shrugging, Rex replied, "I don't know, sir. Maybe Chambers wanted to protect his daughter." 

Nodding, the bald man turned his eyes to Mills and instructed, "Agent Mills, you are the highest ranking agent on the premises currently. I want you to get your men and do a wide search on Allison Chambers. Find out where she's been, where she's going, and most importantly, where she is. Understood?"

"Yes, sir," Mills replied. "We'll get on it as soon as possible."

-Somewhere in New York-

The silver Grand Prix raced down the long, empty highway at a hellacious speed. Driving it was Will with Marlow in the passenger seat. The car was quite small so Tyler, Jay, and Kim were forced to cramp themselves into the backseat. Jay held on closely to Kim with his right arm as he sat in between Tyler and her. Beside him, Tyler leaned his against his elbow and stared guardedly out the window. 

"How are we gonna do this?" Tyler asked in a breathless tone. 

"We're going to need a lot more attention than that last video got us," Will replied. 

"We put everything out there, they'll come," Tyler said. 

Shaking his head, Will told him, "No, we're not putting everything out there yet."

"What?! Why not?" Tyler shouted back.

"It'd be foolish to show our whole hand," Will said. Nodding to himself, he muttered, "Knowledge is currency here. We can't spend all of it in one go."

"Then what do you suggest we do?" 

"We take it one step at a time," Will answered. Smiling, he turned to Tyler and said, "Rosalind Freed goes down first." 

A black SUV speeding down the highway skidded to a stop by the shoulder of the road. Standing there were Gabriel and Whaley. The two appeared exhausted as the doors of the SUV propped open. They hopped into the backseat of the SUV, prompting the driver to race off. 

"Any news?" Whaley wanted to know as he sat beside Gabriel.

"Nothing," the man in the passenger seat said. "They're on the move, but the tracker will lead us to them."

Nodding, Whaley arrogantly smirked and stared out the window.

The black SUV Chambers was riding in stopped outside an abandoned warehouse in the middle of nowhere. Surrounded by fields of shorn grass, the warehouse looked desolate and ghostly. Chambers gawked at the mysterious building as the men in the car pulled him out. There was a confused and concerned look on his face.

"Where are we?" Chambers demanded to know. The men on either side of him opened their doors and stepped out onto the dusty, dirty ground.

"That doesn't matter," McCarthy told him as he opened the passenger door.

The driver walked up to the double doors of the warehouse and unlocked the chain closing them. Ripping the chain away from the door handles, he tossed it off to the side and pulled the doors open. The bald man holding Chambers pushed him forward while the other two followed behind them. As he stumbled into the empty warehouse, Chambers looked around cautiously.

There were several windows inside the warehouse, but most of them were boarded up by four-by-four planks of wood. Small slivers of sunlight pierced through the openings in the boards and shone against the dark, dusty floor and walls. There was some old graffiti plaguing the stained, gray walls while spider webs and dust hung from nearly every corner. In the middle of the floor was a single metal chair. Chambers stared at the decrepit chair as the man holding onto his handcuffs shoved him towards it.

"What is this?!" Chambers screamed as he frantically turned to the men forcing him into the building. 

"We were told if you refused to cooperate, we were to do whatever it took to find our answers," McCarthy said. The short, stocky man beside him pushed Chambers down onto the chair and uncuffed his wrists. McCarthy simply smiled at Chambers and said, "We're just following orders."

Chambers glared at the three men before him with ferocity as the fourth man handcuffed his hands behind the back of the chair. He gritted his teeth angrily and tried to lift the chair up, but found it had been screwed onto the floor. 

Cracking his knuckles, the bald man turned to Chambers and demanded, "Now, tell us where your daughter is!"

-Manhattan, NY-

Standing around in a half-empty parking garage were Jay, Tyler, Will, Kim, and Marlow. Jay stood on the right side of the Pontiac with Kim beside him. Across from them, Tyler stood on the other side of the car while Marlow stood in front of the rear bumper with her arms folded against her chest. Slamming the driver side door closed, Will walked around the side of the car and dumped a black duffel bag on top of the trunk. 

"What's that?" Tyler asked as Will stood at his side. He pointed his chin in the direction of the bag and furrowed his brow at it.

"All the evidence we need to take down Freed," Will confidently answered. "We just need a way to get it to the right people."

"And how would we do that?" Tyler replied.

"You said we'd need more media attention," Jay remembered.

Will looked up at Jay and nodded. "Exactly."

"How are we going to get it?"

"The same way we got it in the first place. With a bomb."

Jay's face immediately contorted into a shocked and appalled expression. To Will's left, Tyler stared at his friend as if he'd seen a ghost. His mouth gaped open as he muttered, "Wait. Wait. Wait. There's no way we're blowing anything up! Are you serious? That's suicide!" 

"Ty's right, Will. There are other ways we can get attention!" Jay pushed. 

"None of them will get us the type of attention a bomb could bring," Will replied. "You remember how fast the media, the cops, and everyone else flocked around us when the Drexler blew up! Not even ten minutes and everyone was all over the place and on our case!"

"I remember what happened to us when the Drexler blew up too!" Jay shouted in frustration. 

"What you're planning here, Traveler, it's a risky idea," Marlow said, shaking her head. "There's no way you'll get close enough to any building to lay a bomb."

"And I'm not trying to hurt innocent people!" Jay added. 

"When'd I say we gonna actually bomb something?" Will smarmily replied. 

The bald-headed man pulled the sleeves of his white dress shirt up to his elbow. Red blood crusted the crevices of his knuckles, which he cracked loudly in front of a bloodied Chambers. Still seated in the middle of the empty warehouse, Chambers' gruesome visage stared up at the four men in front of him. The bald man threw another punch at his face, knocking his head off to the side. Spitting out blood, he hung his head low and breathed heavily.

"It's only going to get worse, Fred," McCarthy said with a tinge of sadistic glee in his voice. "Just tell us where she is and this can end right now."

"I'm not telling you a goddamn thing!" Chambers retorted. In reply, the bald man punched him across the jaw again. 

Behind McCarthy, the driver and the other man stood off to the side, watching the bald man do his work on Chambers' helpless body. Sighing, McCarthy took a few steps towards Chambers and stared him in the face. Shaking his head, he smiled slightly and said, "Look at you, Chambers. You're not even a man anymore."

"I'm a father!" Chambers screamed loudly. 

Chuckling, McCarthy nodded and replied mockingly, "That you are. That you are." The bald man to his right reeled back his fist to throw another punch, but McCarthy stuck his right arm out to stop him. Without looking back at the bald man, McCarthy calmly ordered, "Get the kit from the car."

"Yes, sir," the bald man answered as he turned around.

Making a ticking sound with his tongue, McCarthy looked down at Chambers' beaten body. Blood dripped from his nose and lips as his eye welled up twice its size. There were several bruises along the side of his face with a cut or two along his temple. He didn't even look alive anymore as he sat down, his chest heaving heavily. Closing his eyes, McCarthy put his left hand up to his temple and said, "You know what I don't get? How some people are so willing to sacrifice themselves for others."

"It's called being a good father!" Chambers retorted.

"It's called being stupid," McCarthy replied, staring at Chambers sternly. The mocking tone in his voice was suddenly traded in for a graver, alarming one. "You listen to me, one way or another, we are going to find your daughter. I suggest you save us and yourself the trouble and just tell us where she is."

"Even if I knew where she was, there's no way I'd tell you," Chambers defiantly said. He glared up at McCarthy with a menacing look. From the blood stains around his eyes, Chambers could barely make out the smiling figure before him.

Smugly smirking, McCarthy taunted, "You're a gambler, aren't you?"

-Upper East Side, Manhattan-

A tall, high-rise apartment building stood in the middle of the Upper East Side. The blazing rays of the sun bounced against the building's smooth, glassy surface and reflected down at the busy streets surrounding it. On the top floor of the building, in her own personal penthouse, Rosalind Freed sat at a circular table in the small dining room. With a silver plate of pancakes, eggs, and bacon, she watched the morning news. Beside her hand sat a translucent glass of pulpy orange juice. Next to that was a silver pitcher filled with gooey maple syrup for her pancakes. Jabbing a fork at one of the pancakes, Rosalind used a knife to cut off the piece. Sticking the ripped pancake into her mouth, Rosalind stared straight forward at the plasma screen TV mounted on the wall across from her.

"Good morning, New York. This morning, our top story centers on one of the FBI's own, Director Fred Chambers, who has reportedly been missing since yesterday. A source from within the FBI Field Office here in New York states that Director Chambers went missing yesterday afternoon while pursuing Drexler Bombing suspects, Jay Burchell, Tyler Fog, and Will Traveler. Though no one from the FBI would officially confirm it, we are hearing multiple stories from our sources that this is, in fact, the case. We will update you throughout the day on this case as we receive new info," the news anchor stated in a clear, booming voice. 

Sighing, Rosalind picked up the black remote control from the dining table and pressed the red button at its head, turning the TV screen black. Turning back to her breakfast, she picked up some of her yellow scrambled eggs with the fork and stuffed it into her mouth. Picking up the white napkin from her lap, Rosalind wiped at the sides of her lips then folded up the napkin and set it down on the table. As she stood up from her wooden chair, she walked towards the large balcony of the penthouse. Grabbing her cellphone from the antique drawer on her way to the balcony, she flipped it open and dialed a number.

Waiting outside on the balcony, Rosalind said into the phone, "How's it coming along with Traveler and the others?"

"We're on their tail. They haven't noticed the tracker on the car yet," Whaley replied from the other end.

"When this is over and done with, you know what to do," Rosalind stated. 

"Traveler will be taken care of. You don't need to worry," Whaley said confidently. 

Nodding, Rosalind hung up the phone and stuck it into the pocket of the light blue robe she wore. Sticking her boney hands into the soft, comfortable pockets of her robe, she stared out over the large balcony onto the ant field below.

Staring out the window to his left, Whaley took a deep breath and hung up his cellphone. Sticking it into his pocket, he kept his eyes peeled on the road. Beside him, Gabriel looked up at the ceiling of the car.

"What'd she say?" he sighed.

"This ends today," Whaley simply answered. 

Closing his eyes, Gabriel fingered the trigger of the gun at his waist and gulped.

-Manhattan, NY-

"Will? Will?" Tyler hectically repeated as he followed his two friends down a busy New York street.

Hundreds of men and women walked amongst them in droves as they hurried towards the Fog Financial building nearly six blocks away. Dressed in hats and jackets to disguise themselves, the three boys weaved through the mess of pedestrians blocking their way. With a nervous, apprehensive look on his face, Tyler grabbed at Will's sleeve to get his attention. Immediately, Will turned around and grabbed Tyler by the collar of his dark brown jacket.

"You need to calm down," Will sternly told him. "Just trust me on this, it'll work!"

"I don't even know what you're doing!" Tyler retorted. Looking at Jay, he tapped the back of his hand against Jay's chest and said, "C'mon Jay, you gotta back me up on this."

Faintly shaking his head, Jay replied, "Sorry, Ty, I think I'm with Will on this one."

Stamping his foot on the ground, Tyler rubbed his coarse hand against his jaw and asked, "What if we get caught, huh?"

"Then we get caught," Will numbly replied. Turning away from Tyler, he began to walk back down the street. 

Tyler and Jay quickly followed suit and crossed the street alongside him. Walking beside Will, Tyler pecked at him, "So if we get caught, we get caught? That's it? There are bigger things at stake here, Will! We're not pulling some kind of prank this time!" 

"We won't get caught," Jay assured his friend. "C'mon, Tyler."

Pushing Jay away, Tyler shouted, "How could you be okay with this, Jay?! Just a few minutes ago, you were standing by me!" 

"Listen to me, I don't like the idea any more than you do, but I believe this is the only way," Jay replied calmly. 

Eyes shifting in every direction, Tyler shook his head in disagreement and followed his friends down the block. Above them, the bright sun was beginning to be fogged by dark gray clouds. 

-New York FBI Field Office-

Walking through the center of the bullpen, Mills held his hands against his waist and demanded to know, "Alright, what do we got?!" 

An FBI agent with dread locks turned around in his revolving green chair and answered, "Nothing on Fred or Allison Chambers. Everything seems to be dead on that end." Sticking a stiff finger in the air, he added, "However, we think we got something else."

"What?" Mills impatiently asked.

"Remember Kim Doherty – Burchell's girlfriend?" the agent questioned.

Nodding, Mills replied, "Yeah. She disappeared around the same time the boys did three months ago."

"Well, apparently not," the agent said. Mills turned to him with a confused, questioning look. "Her passport came up as flagged while crossing the Mexican border at around one AM this morning."

"The Mexican border?" Mills replied. "How did Chambers and his team not get this the first time she crossed?" 

"Who knows? Maybe we just missed it," the agent shrugged.

Smirking triumphantly, Mills nodded to himself and turned to Agent Rex who was standing alone in the corner. "Nikki, I want you to find out everything you can on Doherty."

"I think I should be working the case on Chambers instead," Rex interceded.

Shaking his head, Mills retorted, "No I want you on this. I can handle Chambers' case. I want you to do anything you can to find Doherty. If her passport came up as flagged, there has to be a trace. Find out where she is. If we're lucky, she's in town."

-Newark, NJ-

The smell of real home-cooked food was comforting. It gave Kim a warm, familiar feeling despite the unfamiliarity of who was cooking the food. Embracing herself, Kim leaned back against the counter of Marlow's kitchen while the former FBI agent fried some eggs on the stove. The two had returned to Marlow's apartment nearly twenty minutes ago. Kim had changed into one of Marlow's old, white sweaters and jeans. Both were a bit big on her, but she didn't mind. It felt good to be in some regular clothes for once. She'd gotten so used to the white rags she was dressed in that she almost felt naked without them. It was also comforting to be able to take a shower again. Although she had to make it quick just in case, Kim made the most of the shower she just had. Rubbing her thin fingers along her soft body, Kim smiled.

"Eggs are almost ready," Marlow said as she grabbed the handle of the pan. "Take a seat in the living room. I'll bring 'em in."

"Okay," Kim meekly replied. She couldn't believe she was being cooked for by a woman she had perceived as the bad guy no more than three months ago. There was still a feeling of unease and distrust between the two, but Kim figured that if Jay and his friends could trust Marlow, she should be able to as well. Nodding, Kim stepped out of the tiny, cramped kitchen and headed over to the table in the living room.

As she sat down, Kim's eyes wandered around the small apartment. There wasn't much to look at; other than the TV and the couch, Marlow didn't have much else in the living room. It didn't seem to fit the mold of what Kim saw the middle-aged woman as. While she perceived Marlow to be a simplistic woman, she never saw her as boring or dull. Nevertheless, Kim ignored her thoughts as Marlow walked in with two plates full of fried eggs. 

"Here you go," Marlow said kindly as she set the plate down in front of Kim. Setting her own plate across from Kim, Marlow handed her a fork and took a seat. 

"Thank you," Kim said. Taking the fork with her right hand, she stabbed at the fried eggs and began eating. For so long all she had eaten was bread and some strange soup-like substance the guards at the prison threw at her. It was nice and relieving to eat something she was familiar with. 

"How is it?" Marlow asked as she took a bite.

"Good," Kim answered, nodding. "You don't know how good it feels to finally eat real food!"

"I could only imagine," Marlow replied, smiling kindly. Taking a long glance at the ecstatic face on Kim, Marlow chuckled to herself. Though she barely knew the girl, she felt good making her happy. Nodding satisfactorily at herself, Marlow took her fork and grabbed some more eggs.

Suddenly, both women dropped to the ground as the sound of gunfire lit up the apartment. Kim ducked under the table and hugged her knees to her body while Marlow bent down on all fours. Turning to Kim, she motioned for her to hide somewhere. Frightened, Kim shook her head, but Marlow sternly grabbed her by the arm and jerked her away. Grabbing a 10 mm pistol from the couch, Marlow aimed it in the direction of the doorway and opened fire. She heard the bullets burst through the door and in response, a hail of bullets came their way. Pulling Kim away, Marlow opened a closet and tossed Kim inside.

"Stay in there! Don't come out till it's safe. Got it?!" 

Kim shakily nodded, but shouted out, "What about you?!"

"I'll be fine," Marlow assured the girl as she closed the door on her.

-Manhattan, NY-

The Fog Financial building stood tall and shining despite the gathering rain clouds above. The bright streaks of sunlight were beginning to thin as the clouds thickened. Below, Will led Jay and Tyler over to a park bench beside a small fountain. There were many people walking through the plaza in front of the building. Looking around, Will pulled out a cellphone and began to dial a number. Before he could finish, though, Jay grabbed Will by the wrist.

"Let's hope this works," Jay sighed. Will looked up at him and nodded. "I'm trusting you."

"This'll work, I promise," Will reassured his friend. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Tyler was still a little frantic about the whole situation. Dialing the last digit of the number, Will put the cellphone up to his ear and listened. 

"Nine-one-one operator. What is your emergency?" a female voice asked.

"Hi, I'd like to report a bomb threat," Will casually answered. 

-Newark, NJ-

With her back placed against the wall, Marlow held her 10 mm close to her chest. Holding the gun with both hands, she waited for the oncoming gunfire to stop. As soon as she heard it quiet down, she peeked out the corner and opened fire. Rushing towards the door, she continued pulling the trigger until she jumped to the side into the kitchen. Crawling back towards the wall, she began to reload her weapon as she heard a loud thumping at the door. Seconds later, the front door splintered open and Whaley stomped into the apartment with Gabriel and two other men in toe. 

Crazily waving his gun around, Whaley fired a bevy of bullets through the apartment foyer. Ducking, Marlow did her best to remain out of the gun's range. Her heart pumped loudly and quickly as the sound of bullets hitting everything around her amplified her reflexes. Reaching up at the counter, she felt around for something to throw. Her fingers found their way to a can of tomatoes. Throwing the can through the kitchen doorway, she aimed at it and opened fire. A single bullet tore through the aluminum can, sending pieces of bloody red tomatoes flying all over the hallway. 

Instantly, the four men outside began firing. All except for Gabriel who remained calm and aloof as he searched through the apartment. Hurrying out into the hallway, Marlow aimed her weapon at the back of one of the men. Pulling the trigger, she sent a bullet straight through the man's head. However, the other man quickly turned around and fired at her. Dropping to one knee, Marlow dodged the bullets coming her way and took aim. Quickly, she pulled the trigger twice, putting two bullets into the man's chest. In the living room, Whaley spun around and hurried back into the hallway while Gabriel exited one of the bedrooms. The man Marlow had just shot fell to the ground, but not before getting off one shot. Unfortunately for Marlow, the shot hit her right shoulder. Luckily, it wasn't a serious wound. However, as soon as she heard footsteps coming her way, she dropped to the ground on her back.

Dozens of bullets started flying at her as Whaley appeared at one end of the hallway. Smirking, he glared at Marlow and tauntingly chased her, waving his gun around. Rolling back into the kitchen, Marlow grabbed the doorknob to the pantry door and swung the door wide open. As it flung open, it slammed into Whaley who was entering the kitchen. A bullet ejected itself as Whaley's hand went up in the air. Using the distraction to her advantage, Marlow aimed and fired a bullet into Whaley's shoulder. A loud grunt escaped the psycho's lips as he staggered backwards from the shot. Marlow pulled the trigger again, but this time, she missed. 

Forced to reload, Marlow hurried backwards behind the kitchen counter and reached into her pocket for an extra magazine. As Marlow began to reload, Gabriel appeared behind Whaley to assist. Still in the living room closet, Kim painstakingly listened to the sound of gunshots. She tried to cover her ears with her hands, but nothing could mute the sound of gunfire. Shaking, she suddenly opened the door and sprinted down the hallway with an umbrella in her hand. There was no way she was going to sit by and let Marlow get killed. Like a savage, she rushed at Gabriel with the umbrella and stabbed its end into his side. A loud shriek emanated from his mouth as he felt the cold end stick into his ribcage. Grabbing a hold of the umbrella, he jerked it off to the side, throwing Kim into the wall. As Whaley kept firing at Marlow, Gabriel turned and pointed his gun at Kim. He cocked the gun and aimed it at her, but as he stared into her frightened blue eyes, he couldn't help but feel compassion for her. 

"Shoot her!" Whaley ordered. 

Biting his teeth together, Gabriel questioned whether or not to kill the girl. Before he could make a decision, though, Kim hurried to her feet and bolted out the apartment. Hopefully, she'd lead Gabriel away enough for Marlow to regain herself.

Inside the kitchen, Marlow ducked behind the counter and cocked her gun. Clasping the handle of the gun tightly with both hands, she popped her head over the counter and aimed for Whaley's head. The first shot missed, but the second shot collided with Whaley's left shoulder. The maniac's short, stocky body was pushed back by the impact of the bullet, but he remained on his two feet. Marlow shot two more bullets, but both missed. Pointing his gun in Marlow's direction, he let loose on the triggers. Bullets spraying her way, Marlow dropped to the ground and rolled over on her side. Aiming at Whaley from the floor, she shot a bullet into his right wrist, forcing him to drop the gun. As his gun fell to the floor, blood oozed out from his torn wrist. Clutching his wounded hand, Whaley screamed in anger and pain. 

Rising up to her feet, Marlow fired two more shots at Whaley. However, he jumped off to the side, evading the bullets. Charging outside the kitchen, Marlow aimed her gun at Whaley and pulled the trigger. Luckily for Whaley, he managed to knock the gun out of Marlow's hand. Kicking Marlow against the wall, Whaley charged into her with his right shoulder. Viciously, though, Marlow dug her hand into the gunshot wound in Whaley's shoulder and pushed him forward. With her pistol, she whipped Whaley against the head, knocking him to the floor. Breathing heavily, Marlow picked up her pistol with Whaley on the floor. As soon as picked it up off the floor, though, she heard a loud gunshot emanate throughout the short hallway.

Staring down at her abdomen, Marlow noticed drips of blood leaking onto the hardwood floor. Looking up, she realized Whaley had drawn a second gun from his ankle holster. With a malicious grin on his face, Whaley rose to his feet, gun pointed directly at Marlow. Beginning to chuckle, he fired another shot, sending a second bullet into Marlow's chest. Grunting, Marlow fell on her back with a hole in the right side of her chest. Gasping for breath, she felt her body shivering with pain. 

"End of the road, Agent Marlow," Whaley taunted as he stalked towards his prey. As he walked over to Marlow's dying body, he looked down at her with disdain and nodded his head. Smirking at her, Whaley added, "At least you get to die with dignity. Your friend – the Mexican guy – he whimpered like a bitch the whole way through."

Marlow's eyes widened in anger and disgust as she listened to Whaley's words. Chuckling, the son of a bitch lifted his gun up to Marlow's head and pulled the trigger. A clicking sound emanated from the barrel of the gun. Eyes wide, Whaley realized his gun had locked. Suddenly, he heard the loud, echoing sound of gunfire and gasped. Blood dripping from his gut, Whaley dropped to his right knee and struggled to stay up. Looking at Marlow, he watched her begin to rise with her gun in her hand. He coughed up some blood as Marlow strained to stand. Staggeringly, she took a step towards Whaley and grabbed him by the collar of his jacket. Grunting, she lifted his body up to face her. Whaley's eyes widened and he gasped painfully for air as Marlow pulled him to his shaking feet.

Breathing heavily and loudly, Marlow looked into Whaley's eyes with ferocity and uttered, "His name was Borjes, Guillermo Borjes." The next thing Whaley heard was the deafening sound of a gunshot. Whimpering, he let out a cough and began to slump forward onto Marlow's shoulder. Struggling to stand, Marlow frowned and pulled the trigger of her gun several more times. Bullet after bullet penetrated Whaley's torso, spraying his blood all over Marlow's clothes. Marlow's finger kept pulling on the trigger even after she had run out of bullets. Still pulling the trigger, she pushed Whaley's body away from her, letting it fall to the floor. With a resigned look on her face, her knees buckled and her body collapsed to the hardwood. Gaspingly, she let go of her gun and looked at the open door to her apartment. Her eyesight was beginning to blur and her hearing seemed to fade. As her eyelids closed over her eyes, Marlow lay still on the ground. Her body heaved up and down lightly with every last breath she took until there were no more left.

Her sore feet carrying her through the long, crowded streets of Newark, Kim struggled to keep running. With her heart thumping in her chest, Kim sprinted down a sidewalk filled with men and women walking up and down it. As she hurried down the street, she held tightly onto the black backpack slung around her shoulder. She had made sure to grab it before she escaped from the apartment only moments before. A few yards behind her, Gabriel quickly started to catch up. Gaining momentum, he sprinted hastily towards her. Dashing across the street, Kim turned the corner and crossed through a tiny, dank alley. On the other side, she turned right and headed down another block. Turning her head, she saw Gabriel pop out of the alley and chase her down the street. As she sprinted down the street, she spotted a group of African-American men standing outside a department store. Running to them, she began screaming for help.

"Help me! Please, help me!" she loudly shouted.

One of the men put a hand on her shoulder and asked, "What's wrong, sister?" 

"Please, my boyfriend," she gasped, pointing towards Gabriel. "He, he – "

"He do this to you?" one of the men asked, touching the bruise on her temple. She had received it when Gabriel pushed her hard into the wall.

Kim hadn't even realized she had a huge, red mark on her forehead till the man pointed it out. Repeatedly nodding, she murmured, "Yeah, yeah. We had a fight and he – "

"Hold on, we'll handle this," the man interrupted. As Gabriel neared them, the man blocked his path and grabbed him by the sleeve of his jacket. Quickly, Kim turned and ran away.

"Hey, man, hold up a sec," one of the men told Gabriel.

"What are you doing?! Let me go!" Gabriel demanded, brushing the man's hand away from his jacket. 

From across the street, Kim turned her head to see the men beginning to circle around Gabriel. Smirking a little, she turned back around and turned the corner as she continued sprinting up the street.

-Manhattan, NY-

Outside the Fog Financial building, several police cars had arrived, their sirens blaring on full-blast. There were nearly a dozen of them parked outside the building. A cluster of them was parked along the street, forming a path of a black SWAT van to drive through. Several men in protective clothing appeared from the back of the van and headed towards the circle of police officers standing in front of the Fog Financial building. 

A few yards away, Will, Jay, and Tyler watched from afar. His arms crossed over his chest, Will watched closely as the bomb squad entered the building. "Only a matter of time," he muttered to Jay and Tyler. 

"Everyone, please calm down!" a police officer shouted as he walked towards the congregation of onlookers standing behind the police barricade. "Everyone, there may be a bomb inside the building. All of you need to get as far away from here as possible! Please, everyone, leave the vicinity immediately!"

Most of the people began to leave, but several stayed and shouted words at the policeman. He shouted back at the onlookers and waved them off with his hand. From the fountain they hid beside, Will, Jay, and Tyler began to walk past the police officers. Suddenly, one of them pointed his finger at them and shouted something out to his comrades. Immediately, the three boys took off with several policemen chasing after them. 

"Is this supposed to be part of the plan?!" Tyler shrieked as he sprinted down the street. 

"You could say that!" Will shouted back, wending his way through traffic. 

"This is NYPD! We have spotted Burchell, Fog, and Traveler! I repeat: we have spotted Burchell, Fog, and Traveler!" one of the policemen shouted into the radio. He proceeded to relay the address then continued to pursue the boys, sprinting down the long street. 

As Will, Jay, and Tyler sped across the street, a car nearly hit the three of them. Slapping his hands against the car's hood, Will ran around the front of the vehicle and ran through traffic. Jay and Tyler hurried behind him, turning around to see the policeman still chasing them. Running past a biker, Will sprinted onto the street and headed down the sidewalk. A crowd of people turned in his direction with confused, wondering faces. Yelling out excuses, Will, Jay, and Tyler pushed through the men and women outside the building and hurried down the street. 

Sprinting across the car-lined road, the three boys heard the sound of police sirens wailing in the background. Speeding up, the three of them ran around the corner and hurried down a hill. A few yards behind, the policeman continued chasing them down. Behind him, there were two other police officers joining in on the chase. Feeling his heart palpitating, Tyler grabbed a hold of the wall to his left to keep himself from collapsing. Breathing heavily, he darted down the street behind Jay and Will who both seemed to be faring better than him. 

"C'mon! This way!" Will shouted as he grabbed Jay by his sleeve. Pulling him into an alley, he sprinted across to the other end. Before he could reach it, though, a black van appeared and started going down the alley. His heart jumping, Will grabbed his two friends and dragged them to the other side of a green garbage can. Putting his index finger to his lips, Will motioned for his friends to remain silent as the black van crossed through the alley. 

As soon as the van passed, Will started for the end of the alley again, with Jay and Tyler quickly following behind. Suddenly, though, another van appeared in the alleyway and stopped in front of the boys. Spinning around, Will noticed the other van was waiting at the opposite end of the alley. His eyes widening, he turned to Jay and Tyler and nodded. Together, the three of them sprinted towards the van in an attempt to run around it. Unfortunately, the doors to the van slid open before they could get away. Several men in black clothing appeared with Spectre M4s. Will was familiar with these submachine guns. They were quite powerful and effective; they fired eight-hundred-fifty rounds per minute and had a range of around fifty meters. Resigned, Will raised his arms in surrender as one of the men grabbed him by his collarbone. 

The man threw Will against the wall along with Jay and Tyler. Clenching his teeth, Will held onto the wall as the man began palming his body for any weapons. A sigh escaped his lips as the man pulled his USP .45 out of his holster and the Glock 30 from his ankle. Beside him, Tyler breathed heavily and loudly as another man felt his body for weapons. Swallowing, Tyler closed his eyes as the man behind him smashed the butt of his gun against Tyler's head. Will's eyes widened with rage as he saw his friend go down. However, a second later, his eyesight blackened as well and he was knocked out cold.

-Upper East Side, Manhattan-

Will Traveler's eyes flung wide open to an enormous view of the New York City skyline. The bright lights of the buildings cascaded into his blurry eyes, prompting him to shut them forcefully. As he slowly opened them back up, he stared around the room. On either side of him were Jay and Tyler, both with their heads hung low and their eyes closed. Heavily breathing, Will grunted as he craned his neck up to crack the kinks out of it.

"Oh good. Finally one of you is awake," a female voice muttered. Looking at the far corner of the room, Will saw Rosalind Freed in a black business suit sauntering towards him. Swiveling in her hand was a glass of scotch. She took one tiny sip of it and set it down on the tabletop in front of Will. 

"Who are you?" Will numbly asked. He still felt as if he were sleeping. The back of his head was in pain and he couldn't even feel his arms. He could feel, though, that his wrists were in handcuffs. 

"I… am Rosalind Freed," Rosalind introduced herself with a pompous smile. 

Inanely chuckling, Will replied, "So we finally meet." 

"Yes. Finally."

Staring up at his captor defiantly, Will taunted, "You know I watched your son burn to death, right?" Suddenly, Rosalind whipped her hand across Will's face. A red mark appeared where the backside of her left hand was. Will couldn't help, but chuckle to himself; he could finally feel something again. 

"You should learn to watch your tongue," Rosalind said spitefully. "Your mother should have raised you better."

"My mother raised me fine. It's my dad you should talk to," Will sarcastically replied.

Grimacing at Will, Rosalind turned around and picked up the glass of scotch. She took a large gulp from it this time and slammed it back down on the desk. "I think you need to be quiet and listen, boy."

"You got something to say, shouldn't my friends be awake for this?" Will joked.

Walking towards the door across the room, Rosalind replied, "I agree." She opened the door and in came two men in black suits. "Please awaken these young men for me."

"Yes, ma'am," the two burly men said in unison. At the same time, the two men struck Jay and Tyler's ribs with a pair of stun guns. The two college grads' bodies jolted up and shook with pain as electricity coursed through their veins. 

"That's enough," Rosalind said, waving off the two men to turn and leave. Seated on the chairs, Jay and Tyler breathed heavily and groaned in pain as they looked up at Rosalind Freed. She walked back over to the desk and sat on the edge of it as she crossed her arms over her chest. With a fake smile on her face, she turned to the three boys and said, "Now that you're all awake, maybe we can get to this exchange."

"What exchange?" Jay grunted, shaking his head to awaken himself. 

"You have information that is vital to the survival of this nation. If you hand that information over to the wrong people, this whole country will go down in flames," Rosalind stated. 

"And who would the wrong people be?" Will asked. "I'm guessing it's not you or your buddies, huh?"

"We are the good guys, Will," Rosalind urged. "What we are doing, what we have done – it's all been for the good of this nation. It's for the peace and prosperity of all our people!"

"Bullshit!" Tyler retorted. "You framed us for a bombing we didn't commit! You've killed innocent people to get to us! How does that all work towards peace and prosperity?!" 

"I understand your apprehension at siding with us, but believe me when I tell you that the people you think are the good guys are much worse than we are," Rosalind calmly stated. 

"We've met the good guys already," Jay said. "They don't look much like you."

"We are only two forms of evil, one slightly more… primal than the other," Rosalind replied. 

"You're not getting the evidence," Jay mumbled, shaking his head. "We're gonna show it to the FBI, the media, and you – you're going to be arrested."

"I highly doubt that, Jay," Rosalind sighed. 

"And why is that?" Jay asked tauntingly. 

"Because you're not going to hand that evidence over."

"You sure?"

"What would you do if I told you, I could give you everything you wanted? All of you. Jay – you could live a normal life again. You can be with Kim, live in a nice, upscale apartment in Manhattan, have that comfortable, high-power life you wanted as a lawyer," Rosalind said. Turning to Tyler, she added, "And you – Tyler – you could take over your father's company. Live the good life again and do whatever you wanted. Isn't that what you want?" Tyler looked at Rosalind with a disgusted face as she turned her attention to Will. "Will, I know you of all people want a normal life, a slice of ordinary you were never offered. You could be Stephen Mailer again. And most of all, a chance to meet the father you never knew. I could give it all to you. You deserve it. You don't have to be on the run forever. There is an exit."

Nodding, Jay began to chuckle and replied, "I know there's an exit. But it's not the one you're offering."

"There are two exits in the world you've stumbled into, Jay: one is through that door and the other is through that window. It's a long way down, son," Rosalind threatened. 

Shaking his head 'no', Jay smiled at Rosalind and said, "You've already been exposed."

-New York FBI Field Office-

"Agent Mills! Agent Mills!" a woman in a black blouse shouted after him as he stalked down a hallway. "There's someone here to see you!"

"Who?" Mills asked, sipping on his coffee. 

"Kim Doherty," the woman panted.

Mills' eyes opened widely and he hurried down the other end of the hallway back into the bullpen. Agent Rex was already standing there at her desk with Kim beside her. Kim held tightly onto the black backpack slung around her shoulder. She looked up cautiously at Mills as if to try to read him. 

"This has been a long time comin'," Mills sighed as he stomped over to Kim. Proudly smiling, he muttered, "So you finally chose to turn yourself in, huh?"

"I'm not here for me," Kim answered defiantly. Shoving the book bag into Mills' arms, she said, "I'm here for Jay and his friends."

"What is this?" Mills asked as he raised the backpack.

"She says there's evidence inside that implicates Rosalind Freed in several illegal activities," Rex answered for Kim.

"Including the illegal rendition of myself," Kim added. 

Mills looked at Kim with a confused face and turned to Rex. "Agent Rex, please put Ms. Kim Doherty under federal custody. She is a suspected accomplice in the Drexler Bombing. I want her put in a holding cell until further notice."

Rex nodded and pulled out a pair of handcuffs. She placed them around Kim's wrists and began to drag her away. Kim turned to Mills with a stern look and shouted, "The truth is in there!"

-Upper East Side, Manhattan- 

With an infuriated look on her face, Rosalind told Jay, "You don't have to do this, Jay! Accept my offer and take your life back!"

"I am taking my life back!" Jay retorted. "We all are!" 

"There's nothing you can do about it now," Tyler said, smiling. "Might as well call your lawyer up and get him down here ASAP."

Rosalind glared at him with a look of repugnance and said, "I'm offering you salvation! You're just going to throw it all away to expose the truth?!"

"Yes."

"Your father," Rosalind firmly said. Suddenly, Jay looked up at her with curiosity. "Don't you want to know the truth about your father, Jay?"

"You don't know anything," Jay replied, shaking his head.

"Don't listen to her, Jay," Will warned. 

"He worked for us, Jay!" Rosalind shouted. "Your father and his unit worked for my son for over ten years."

"You're lying!" Jay screamed.

"No, I'm not." Turning around, Rosalind went to the opposite side of her desk and opened a drawer. She reached inside and pulled out an old photograph. Tossing it down onto Jay's lap, she ordered, "Look at it."

Struggling to look away, Jay stared down at the photo. His father stood front and center with Jack Freed behind him, Fred Chambers to his left, and Joseph to his right. The four men had bright smiles on their faces as they posed for the camera. "No," Jay muttered under his breath.

"He may not have known the work he was doing was for the Fourth Branch, but he did anyways with undying loyalty," Rosalind informed Jay. A look of disbelief plastered itself onto Jay's face like a mask. He continuously shook his head as his mouth formed the word 'no'.

"The reason your father died was because he failed to save his own men. When their work was done, they became dispensable. Your father killed himself because he couldn't bear the guilt of being the only one alive out of his entire unit," Rosalind said with a smug look on her face. She could see the fear and anger welling up inside Jay. "Do you want that to happen to you, Jay? Do you want to be the only one left out of all your friends because of what you've done? If the answer is yes, then go ahead and let your plan happen. But if the answer is no, then stop whatever it is you're doing and give me the evidence."

Shaking his head, Jay looked up at Rosalind with a confident expression. "The answer's no," he said firmly. Out the window, the sound of police sirens blaring echoed through the busy streets. Standing in front of Jay, Rosalind stared at him with indignation.

-New York FBI Field Office-

As a video of Kim Doherty played on the large video screen in the bullpen, Mills flipped through the pages of a document. There was a look of surprise and disappointment in his face as he sifted through the papers. On the screen, Kim displayed the several scars she received from being tortured by Freed's men. Looking up from the document in his hand, Mills turned to Agent Rex and handed the pieces of paper off to her.

"I want you to find out where this document came from," Mills instructed. "I know they didn't find this stuff all on their own. They have an inside man."

"Alright," Rex nodded. "Where are you going?"

"I'm heading with the rest of the team to Freed's estate. I've already told the police chief to send his squads down there. They should be arriving soon," Mills replied. Reaching for the bullet proof vest on his seat, he strapped it onto his torso and patted himself down. Looking at Rex sternly, he told her, "Listen, just because someone else is guilty doesn't mean our boys are innocent. I want you to interrogate her. Find out everything you can. We still have to bring in Burchell and his friends."

"I know. I understand," Rex replied, nodding. "I'll get right on it."

In another part of the Field Office, Kim sat with her hands cuffed before her. She placed them cupped together on the metal table and fiddled with her fingers. Sighing, she looked up at the clock in the corner. It was about eight-thirty at night. Suddenly, her attention was diverted to the door as it opened and Agent Rex walked in. 

"I'm Special Agent Nicole Rex," Rex introduced herself. Pulling the seat from under the table, she sat down and stared into Kim's eyes. "Do you know what you've just done, Kim?"

"I just helped my boyfriend and his friends prove their innocence," Kim said triumphantly.

"And you've exposed the matriarch of one of America's most powerful families to be a conspirator in some elaborate shadow government," Rex added. "You've got one hell of a road ahead of you."

-Upper East Side, Manhattan-

Outside Rosalind Freed's office, several of her bodyguards were loading their guns and holstering them on their belts. Among them stood Gabriel Fog. He turned to the man beside him as the man cocked his gun and shoved it into his holster. Gulping, Gabriel jammed a full clip into the handle of his black Beretta 92. Under the light brown dress shirt he was wearing was a heavy bulletproof vest. Gabriel touched it to make sure it was still there as he walked over to the door to Freed's office. 

"We're ready," he told her as he opened the door. Looking back at him as he held the door open was Tyler. He couldn't bear to look at his own brother and quickly looked away.

"Alright," Rosalind replied. Motioning towards Tyler, Jay, and Will, she added, "Get your men and get rid of these nuisances like you were supposed to."

Nodding reluctantly, Gabriel said, "Yes, ma'am."

Rosalind hurriedly passed by Gabriel as she followed a group of four bodyguards down the hallway of her penthouse and to the foyer. Left behind with two other men, Gabriel motioned his head towards the three boys and instructed his men, "Get them out of here. You know what to do with Traveler."

Nodding, the two men walked over to the boys and lifted them up by their arms. Shoving them through the door, they forced them to keep walking. As he passed by his younger brother, Tyler stared at him with an angry and saddened look. 

"Things didn't have to end this way," Gabriel mumbled as he tore his eyes away from Tyler.

"What are you talking about?! The moment we were pulled into this, this was the only way it could end!" Tyler shouted back. The man holding onto him jerked his arm, but Tyler refused to back down. "What kind of a brother are you?"

"It was for the good of the family!" Gabriel retorted.

Shaking his head, Tyler scoffed at his brother and trotted down the hall. 

Skidding to a stop in front of the towering apartment building were several police cars and a SWAT van accompanied by two FBI SUVs. As soon as the front SUV came to a stop, its passenger-side door flung open and Agent Mills stepped out, his hand ready at his side. While a number of the squad cars made a barricade in front of the apartment building, the other officers and FBI agents lined up with their guns readily aimed. Behind the line of policemen and special agents, the SWAT team members began filing out their large, black van.

Walking towards a duo of police officers, Mills instructed, "You two – go around back and make sure they don't escape through the back exit!" The two officers nodded and hurried around the back of the apartment building. Scanning the area, Mills made sure there were no other exits. 

"Agent Mills, Alpha Team and Beta Team are a go," a SWAT team member informed him. "What should we do?"

"Send them in to extract the target," Mills responded. 

Nodding, the SWAT team member pulled a radio from the back of his belt and said into it, "Alpha Team, Beta Team, you're in."

From around both sides of the apartment building, two teams of about eight black-clad SWAT team members each swarmed into the building through the front entrance. Armed with CAR-15s, the SWAT team members filed one by one into the lobby and separated. While one team blocked the elevators, the other team headed into the stairwell. 

Elsewhere in the building, Freed and her bodyguards headed towards the back exit. Rosalind worriedly turned her head as she walked quickly down the narrow, dark hallway. There were two bodyguards in front of her and behind her, but the fear still overwhelmed her. She could feel her body shivering as she rushed towards the green exit sign hanging above the back door. One of the men in front of her turned to her and stuck out his hand, motioning for her and the other bodyguards to stand back. Meanwhile, the other bodyguard aimed his handgun forward, ready to shoot at whatever was on the other side.

The bodyguard holding the door swung it open a second later and aimed his weapon outside as his partner did the same. Standing outside, awaiting them were the two police officers, accompanied by a team of FBI agents. All six men raised their guns to the two bodyguards' heads as they watched the door swing open. 

"Come out with your hands up and no one will be harmed!" one of the FBI agents instructed.

Standing still at the doorway, the two bodyguards stared at one another then took a few steps forward. Holding their guns up in the air, they stood before the door as it closed behind them. 

Inside the narrow hallway, Rosalind breathed heavily and loudly as she stood back behind her other two bodyguards. Gripping one of the men's shirts, she asked, "What the hell is happening out there?!"

"Calm down, ma'am. It'll be alright," the bodyguard replied.

Suddenly, the sound of gunfire emanated from behind the door. Several shots coming from handguns sounded through the alley, followed by subsequent fire from machineguns. As the gunshots continued ringing from behind the door, the two bodyguards grabbed Rosalind and dragged her away.

"What's going on?!" she demanded to know.

"Please, ma'am, we need to get you out of here!" 

Standing in front of the apartment building, Mills heard static going through his radio. Grabbing at it, he put it to his ear as a voice said, "Sir, we've got two men down in the back alley. They attempted to go through the back exit."

"Were there only two of them?" Mills asked.

"Only two that – "

Mills suddenly dropped the radio from his hand as he heard gunshots ringing through the air. Dropping down behind a squad car, he aimed his gun at the entrance of the building and surveyed the area. There were several men behind the entrance of the apartment building shooting at them with handguns. 

Ducking down, Mills picked up his radio and changed the channel. "Alpha Team, Beta Team, what's going on in there?!" 

"This is Alpha Team, we are heading through the stairwell. We heard gunshots from beneath. We don't know what's happening!" a man responded. 

"Son of a bitch!" Mills angrily cursed. Holding tightly onto the radio, he pressed the button on the side and shouted, "Beta Team, come in! Beta Team, come in!"

Rushing through the hallway of the apartment building, Gabriel and the two bodyguards led Will, Jay, and Tyler into an elevator. Just as the elevator door began to shut, the door to the stairwell opened. Dropping down on one knee, Gabriel took aim and fired at the first person through the door. He watched the man go down as the elevator door slid closed. 

"You guys got real sloppy with this one," Will taunted. 

"Shut up," Gabriel said as he elbowed Will in the gut. Gabriel's arms started to shake as he held on tightly to his handgun. Looking up at the bright numbers lining the top of his elevator, he nervously tapped his foot on the ground. 

A second later, the elevator door slid open and Gabriel and the others streamed out into the lobby. To the side, several of Rosalind's bodyguards opened fire on the men outside. Going along the side of the lobby, Gabriel led his men and the boys towards the kitchen. 

Several chefs in the building's kitchen were ducking and taking cover behind their stoves and in their pantries as Rosalind and her two bodyguards passed through. The two men trained their guns forward as they headed through the kitchen. Rosalind's heavy breathing filled her ears as she followed the two bodyguards into the back of the kitchen. One of the men pulled the door open while the other aimed his gun outside. 

The door led to the back alley like the back exit. Looking down one side of the alley, the two bodyguards saw the FBI agents and police officers standing guard the other exit. Immediately, they opened fire. One of the policemen went down from a shot to the head, but the others took cover. The two bodyguards continued firing as they hurried behind a large, green trash can. From behind the trash can, the two men fired at their enemies. Down the alley, one of the FBI agents aimed his gun at one of the bodyguards and fired. He missed, however, and took a shot to the left shoulder. The other bodyguard took down the second police officer with two shots to the chest. However, he received a bullet in the right shoulder and fell on his back. 

As Gabriel and the others headed towards the kitchen, he motioned for them to stop as he looked around the corner. Aiming his gun forward, he jumped out the corner and scanned the hallway. There didn't seem to be anyone there or anyone coming from that direction. He waved for his men to follow him, but he dropped to the ground as he heard a gunshot. Spinning around, he aimed his weapon forward and took a shot at one of the SWAT team members. 

The man took cover behind a wall as the two bodyguards rushed over to Gabriel. Once Gabriel was back up to his feet, he joined the two bodyguards as they took aim at the SWAT members. Before they could open fire, though, Will brought his arms up over his head and swung the chain of his handcuffs against one of the bodyguards' necks. 

As he choked the man, he turned and shouted to Jay and Tyler, "Run!" 

Without a second thought, Tyler grabbed Jay and pulled him away. The two friends hurried down the hallway as Will held onto the bodyguard's neck with his handcuffs. Gabriel turned and rushed down the hall after his brother and Jay, leaving the other bodyguard to contend with the SWAT members. With a frightened look on his face, the guard took aim and opened fire. On the ground, Will struggled with the other bodyguard until he felt the man's body stop moving. The man's red face began to ease as Will choked his last breath out of him. 

Will released the bodyguard and crawled backwards as the other bodyguard went down. The man's body crashed to one knee as several bullets ripped into his gut. He lifted his hand up to fire, but one of the SWAT team members fired a bullet into his head, killing him. As the bodyguard collapsed to the ground, the SWAT members hurried over to Will. 

"I'm unarmed! I'm unarmed!" Will shouted. He showed the SWAT members his handcuffed wrists and raised his arms up in surrender. 

The leader of the SWAT team walked over to him and grabbed the chain of his handcuffs. Staring down at Will, the man pulled his collar down from his mouth and reached for his radio. "Sir, we've apprehended Will Traveler."

In the back alley, Jay and Tyler burst through the door as a bullet zipped passed them. Both boys dropped to the ground as one of the bodyguards shot again at the two remaining FBI agents. Tyler grunted as he crawled against the wall. Staring down one end of the alley, he watched as one of the FBI agents fell to the ground. The other man ducked down and began reloading as the alley door opened again. Gabriel appeared with his gun ready and aimed it at the remaining FBI agent. The agent stood up and took aim, but he immediately took a shot to the head. 

Smoke drifted out of the barrel of Gabriel's gun as he aimed it forward. Down the alley, Jay and Tyler stared up at him in disbelief as they crawled backwards. Walking over towards them, Gabriel cocked his weapon and aimed it straight forward. 

"You're really gonna do it?" Tyler breathlessly asked his brother.

Shaking his head, Gabriel replied, "I have to."

As Jay and Tyler closed their eyes, two gunshots rang off through the damp alley accompanied by the sound of heavy rainfall. They could both feel the cold rain begin to pelt their sore bodies as they felt their hearts beating wildly in their chests. Opening his tired eyes, Tyler watched as his brother stared at the bullet wound on the right side of his chest. Gabriel looked up at him with confused eyes as he dropped to the ground a second later. 

Tyler's eyes widened in disbelief as he looked passed Gabriel's fallen body at the other bodyguard. He was on the ground as well, a puddle of blood forming around his head. "What the hell?" Tyler muttered to himself.

"Get up!" a strong, familiar voice shouted from behind. "I said, get up!"

Jay and Tyler spun around and watched as the Porter walked over to them from the end of the alley. In his hand was a silver pistol. "You!" Jay mumbled, climbing to his feet. 

"C'mon! It's time to go!" the Porter said as he motioned for Jay and Tyler to follow him. Still reeling from confusion and shock, Tyler stared at the Porter as the man began walking back up the alley. Once he felt Jay and Tyler not moving, though, the Porter turned back around and shouted, "We are moving! Let's go!"

"But-but what about Will?!" Jay shouted back.

"Traveler can handle himself!" the Porter struck back. "Now, it's time to get out of here!"

Jay and Tyler looked back at one another in confusion, but obeyed anyways. They hurried down the alley, disappearing along with the Porter around the corner. 

Stepping into the bloody lobby of the apartment building, Mills shook his head in disappointment and looked around. There were several body bags being carried off and rolls of yellow tape being wrapped around several places of the room. Walking up to one of his fellow FBI agents, Mills asked, "What do we got?"

"Rosalind Freed's been apprehended," the man replied, "along with Will Traveler."

Mills poked his head outwards and repeated, "Traveler?"

"Yes, sir. Alpha Team spotted Burchell and Fog as well, but they're nowhere to be found. They probably escaped through the back exit. All the men we stationed back there were found dead."

Mills nodded and replied, "I want to see Traveler."

The FBI agent nodded back and walked away to get Will. Sitting down on a bench at the far corner of the room was Will Traveler. He looked up at the agent as he grabbed him and brought him over to Agent Mills. 

"So you're the infamous Will Traveler," Mills said. Smirking, he nodded to himself and grabbed Will by his handcuffs. "It's nice to meet you."

Down the street, parked along the sidewalk was the Porter's Ford Escort. Seated in the passenger seat, Tyler had a concerned look on his face as he held tightly onto his seatbelt. His mind raced with thoughts of Will and Gabriel as he stared absently at the side mirror. His somber reflection stared back at him as he took a deep breath and closed his weary eyes.

Beside him, the Porter held a determined and stoic expression while he watched the police officers and FBI agents outside the apartment building. The tinted windows of the Ford Escort provided good cover. The Porter held a pair of binoculars to his eyes as he surveyed the area. Through the binoculars, he watched Agent Mills bringing Will through the front entrance and into a white van.

In the backseat, Jay apprehensively tapped his fingers against his thigh. Sighing, he reached into his pocket for a cellphone and dialed a number. Putting the phone up to his ear, he waited for an answer. However, all he heard was the ringing of the phone. Looking down at the phone's screen, he read the name he was calling: Kim. Listening again to the ringtone, he cursed under his breath and hung the phone up. 

-FBI Field Office-

Agent Nicole Rex stood with her back against the one-way mirror and her arms crossed over her chest. Her brunette hair, which was normally tied back into a bun or a ponytail, was let down over her soft shoulders. There was a stern but calm look on her face as she stared into the bruised face of Kim Doherty. 

"Are you not going to talk?" Rex asked the young woman.

"What's there to talk about?" Kim replied, averting her eyes from the FBI agent.

"Your boyfriend, Jay, and his friend, Tyler," Rex answered. "We already have Traveler. Just tell us where Burchell and Fog are and this whole nightmare will be over."

"I don't know where they are, alright?" 

"C'mon, Kim!" Rex yelled. "You gave us this evidence on Rosalind Freed, we took it, and we arrested her. We had a little faith in you. Can't you have some in us?"

"My experiences tell me no," Kim replied. 

"Well, when you're ready to tell me something, I'll be outside this door," Rex told her as she grabbed the doorknob. Still sitting, Kim looked at her with a questionable look. Rex stared back at her one final time before turning the doorknob and exiting into the hallway outside. Left alone in the interrogation room, Kim fiddled with her callous fingers as she thought about Jay. 

"He's not gonna talk," McCarthy said into his cellphone. Behind him, Chambers' bloodied body sat hunched over on the metal chair he was strapped to. Blood dripped from his face as his eyes watched McCarthy pace back and forth across the dusty, metal floor. "Are you sure?" He paused to listen. "Alright. It will be done." 

Hanging up the cellphone, McCarthy turned around and walked back over to Chambers. Looking at one of his men, he instructed, "Uncuff him." 

The boney-looking man grabbed a key from his pocket and jammed it into the keyhole of Chambers' handcuffs. As Chambers felt the cuffs loosen, he smiled and looked up at McCarthy. With a disappointed look on his face, McCarthy waved his gun up at Chambers, signaling for him to stand. 

Knowing what was coming, Chambers climbed to his feet. Struggling, he nearly toppled over a few times. Nevertheless, he still managed to stand. Knees wobbling, he coughed and stared straight into McCarthy's eyes. "This is the way it ends?" Chambers muttered.

"This is the way it ends," McCarthy affirmed. 

Nodding, Chambers gulped and tried to stand straight. Reaching up at his tie, he adjusted it so it was straight. Chuckling, he looked at the men before him as they formed a line. He could barely make out their faces through the heavy shadow cast over the room and the blood in his eyes. 

"Last chance," McCarthy sighed. 

As if he was thinking about it for a moment, Chambers looked up at the pitch black ceiling. It was nighttime already. He couldn't believe he'd withstood that much punishment for an entire day. Nodding to himself, he coughed up some blood and clenched his teeth. Looking into McCarthy's unemotional eyes, he stated, "I never had a choice."

Pursing his lips, McCarthy gave an accepting nod. Raising his hands up in front of him, he cocked his gun and began firing into Chambers' body. The three men around him did the same. Chambers' eyes widened in shock and pain as he felt dozens of hot, solid bullets entering and exiting his already-beaten body. Blood spewed out from his mouth and from the wounds scarring his body. As more and more bullets penetrated his flesh and bones, Chambers started to collapse backwards. His knees bending, he fell on his back and felt the cold floor as his head bounced against it. As McCarthy and his men reloaded their weapons, Chambers' head fell to the side and his fists unclenched. 

-Switzerland-

A small, white airplane had touched down only a few moments ago. There were several men in orange clothing coming up to the plane as the door began to open. Above, the sun shone brightly and flung down blinding rays of light. Allison had to shield her eyes from the light as she stepped out of the plane. Behind her, Mitchell helped carry her stuff out. Stepping onto the Switzerland ground, Allison flashed a wide, relieved smile. Taking her bag from Mitchell, she hugged him in thanks and started towards the small airport across from her. Taking one last look back, she grabbed the door handle and pulled it open.

-Upper East Side, Manhattan-

Rosalind Freed stared at the men surrounding her with disdain. She felt the cold steel of the handcuffs wrapped around her tiny wrists and shivered with anxiety. The door to a black SUV was pulled open for her by an FBI agent, but she refused to get in. The man simply stared back at her without reply. However, the man holding onto her handcuffs tossed her into the back of the SUV and shut the door. Sitting up, Rosalind grimaced and stared out the tinted black window of her new prison. 

-Manhattan, NY- 

As the white van transporting Will drove slowly down the Manhattan Bridge, light rain began to fall. Will listened to the drops of rain pelting the car as Mills stared at him with a proud smirk. Noticing the agent grinning at him, Will turned and flashed him a stern look.

"What's the sad face for Traveler?" Mills taunted. "You're goin' home!"

Scoffing at the remark, Will nodded his head and turned away from Mills. Staring out the window, he watched as the rain began to get heavier. Suddenly, he felt the van skid to a stop. 

"What's going on?" Mills asked as he sat up. He tried to look outside through the windshield, but was thrown back by an eruption.

Across from him, Will's eyes widened in disbelief as an orange blaze engulfed his entire field of vision. Closing his eyes, he felt his body get thrown back against the seat as the windshield shattered.

At the other end of the bridge, the Porter stopped the car. Reaching into the glove compartment, he pulled out his pair of binoculars. Sticking them up to his face, he stared out down the bridge at the van. Beside him, Tyler's eyes gaped open as he watched a geyser of flames pierce through the roof of the white van. From the backseat, Jay jumped forward and stared through the windshield of the car. His mouth formed the word 'no' as his eyes widened in surprise. Unstrapping his seatbelt, Tyler screamed, "WILL!" 


	17. Chapter 17: The Aftermath

And now, we're at Season 3 of TRAVELER, which is going to be the final season

And now, we're at Season 3 of **TRAVELER**, which is going to be the final season. Thanks to everybody that's traveled with me to this point. Hopefully, it gets better from here. Since Mr. Dave DiGilio didn't give as much info on Season 3 as he did for Season 2, a lot of the stuff you'll read this season is going to come out of my head. Again, thanks for sticking with me this far and hopefully, I do Mr. DiGilio's work some justice.

Main Cast

Jay Burchell…………….Matthew Bomer

Tyler Fog…………...…...Logan Marshall-Green

Will Traveler…….………Aaron Stanford

Kim Doherty…………….Pascale Hutton

Gabriel Fog……………..Ben Foster

Antonella Ramos……….Sarah Shahi

Daniel McCarthy………..Paul Adelstein

Guest Starring

The Porter……………….Billy Mayo

Gavin March…………….Jim Sturgess

James Henderson……...Lance Guest

Frank Mills………………Chiwetel Ejiofor

Nicole Rex……………….Rose Byrne

Robert Doherty………….Eric Keenleyside

Howard Shears…………Malcolm Stewart

**Chapter 17: The Aftermath**

The pouring rain pelted the roof of the white van Will Traveler sat inside of. Across from him sat Special Agent Frank Mills with the biggest smirk on his face. He stared at Will with proud, dark brown eyes and shook his head. Will simply looked away from him; his eyes were fixed on the pair of handcuffs strapped to his wrists. They felt cold and restricting as he tried to pull them up to scratch his nose. They were connected to the steely floor of the van which rattled as the vehicle sped down a wet, slipper bridge. Turning away from his handcuffs, Will stared out the windshield at the stormy road ahead.

Suddenly, he felt the wheels of the van screech. Immediately, the snide and triumphant look on Mills' face transformed into a worried and confused one. Sitting up, he held onto the handle of his 10 mm and patted his hand against the metal caging barring the front two seats from the back.

"What's going on?" he shouted demandingly.

"There's a car blocking our way!" the driver shouted. He turned his head to face Mills, but his body jerked backwards as the windshield cracked to form a spider web. From the back, Will could see a bundle of flames searing towards the night sky. The van started to slide downwards as Will listened to the fracturing of concrete outside the vehicle.

The man in the driver's seat grabbed at his head; there was a piercing sound ringing in his ears. Breathing heavily, he reached for the radio, but a bullet suddenly shattered the window and entered his face. Blood splattered across the windshield and the dashboard as the driver's head fell forward.

"What the hell just happened?!" Mills screamed as the man in the passenger seat pulled up the emergency brake.

In his seat, Will looked around frantically as he wondered what was happening. Obviously believing this to be Will's doing, Mills turned to him with an agitated look and grabbed the collar of his jacket. Sticking his face in front of Will's, Mills shouted, "What's going on?!"

"Take cover!" the man in the passenger seat warned as a hail of bullets erupted against what was left of the windshield.

-New York FBI Field Office-

"Why am I still here?!" Kim demanded to know. She sat down on one side of a metal table in one of the FBI's interrogation rooms. Dressed in a white tank top and blue jeans, she crossed her arms over her chest and glowered up at Agent Rex. "You can't keep me here forever!"

"You're a known accomplice of three of the FBI's most wanted terrorists! I can keep you here for as long as I want!" Rex retorted. The normally calm and precise look of the agent was transformed into a manic and angry expression.

"My friends are not terrorists!"

Standing before her, Rex leaned forward and said, "Then why are they still running?!"

-Manhattan Bridge-

Several men, women, and children in their cars quickly hopped out of their vehicles and rushed down the other side of Manhattan Bridge. A man and woman sprinted down the bridge as another man and his wife held onto their six-year-old and weaved through the maze of cars in their way. A dog could be heard barking over the sound of crackling fire as its owner dragged it out of a station wagon.

Upon seeing the flames rise into the sky, Tyler pushed open the passenger side door and stepped outside the car. Jay did the same and started to run towards the source of the fire. However, the Porter flung the driver-side door open and followed after the impulsive young man. Blocking Jay's path with his body, the Porter pushed Jay backwards and stuck a finger out in front of him.

"You stay here!" the Porter sternly commanded as he brushed passed a man trying to run away from the explosion.

"But Will – " Jay started.

"You go out there and you will be caught in the crossfire!" the Porter told Jay.

"I don't care!" Jay shouted back. He tried to run passed the Porter, but the tall, burly man grabbed him by his shoulders and pushed him back.

"Do not bring attention to us, Burchell!" the Porter warned, grabbing Jay by the collar of his shirt. He looked left and right at the people hurrying passed them, but no one seemed to be paying any attention to them.

"But-but Will – we have to save him!" Tyler shouted from the car. He ran over to where Jay and the Porter were and pushed the Porter away from Jay. "We have to help him!"

"We can't risk it!" the Porter replied.

"What do you mean we can't risk it?! That's our friend out there!" Tyler retorted.

"Listen to me, do not bring attention to us!" the Porter instructed. Grabbing Jay and Tyler by the sleeves of their jackets, the Porter dragged them back to the car and said, "He will be alright."

"How are you so sure?!" Jay asked as he angrily pulled away from the Porter.

Calming down, the Porter inhaled and answered, "Because they need him."

-New York FBI Field Office-

The clock mounted on the wall above the one-way mirror ticked to eight-thirty as Kim sighed and dropped her sweaty palms on the metal table. Sitting across from her was a short, Middle Eastern man in a navy blue suit with a matching gray tie. He looked at Kim and shook his head as she groaned.

"I don't understand why I'm still being kept here," Kim complained. "They already got the person responsible for the Drexler Bombing – Rosalind Freed."

"I'm sorry, Kim, but I talked to Agent Rex. The documents and files you gave her do implicate Rosalind Freed, but not for the bombing," the lawyer told her. Shaking his head, he pursed his lips and added, "You're still considered an accomplice to your boyfriend and his friends' supposed crimes."

"Don't they need a court hearing or something to keep me here, though?" Kim asked.

"No, I'm sorry. As long as they say you're vital to their case, you're under their jurisdiction," the lawyer answered.

"That's not fair," Kim muttered, shaking her head angrily.

"It never is," the lawyer replied. Tapping his hand on the table, the lawyer leaned forward and said, "Listen, I'll try talking to them, see what I can do for you. Since you weren't actually the one suspected of blowing up the Drexler, I'll see if they'll allow you to go on house arrest instead. You can stay with your father."

"I don't want to stay with my father," Kim stubbornly replied. "I want to go back to Jay!"

The lawyer made an annoyed sound with his tongue and stared into Kim's eyes. "You're not exactly in the position to be bargaining, Kim! I'm trying to help you here! The most I could get for you is house arrest and that's it. The Feds are not going to go for anything more than that!"

"Okay. Okay. Do what you can," Kim sighed.

"I'll try my best."

-Manhattan Bridge-

The sound of bullets rattling around them prompted all three men to drop as close as possible to the cold floor of the car. Mills covered his head with his arms while Will did his best to get away from the path of the bullets. The man in the front seat wasn't as lucky. Though he managed to slide down the seat a little, his body still had a target painted right over it. His lean figure shivered like a rattler's tail as bullets entered and exited it.

Will's breathing increased heavily as he dropped onto his side. He listened to the sound of the bullets stopping, but didn't want to raise his head to look. Staring across at Mills, he could tell the FBI agent was just as scared as he was.

"Did you do this?! Did you do this?!" Mills demanded to know.

"Does it look like this was my idea?! I don't think I'd wanna be in the car if my friends started shooting at it!" Will shouted sarcastically.

Grabbing Will's arm, Mills took the ring of keys and unlocked his cuffs from the floor. Pulling out his weapon, Mills held Will close to him as he prepared to open the back door. As he got closer to the door, though, he heard it begin to open. Holding his gun with both hands, Mills trained the 10 mm forward and prepared to shoot at whatever was on the other side. As the door opened, though, another bullet entered the cabin of the car. It came from the front seat. The bullet zipped passed Will's face and entered the base of Mills' neck. His head jerked backward then forward before drooping onto the floor.

His eyes wide and his face smothered in red speckles of blood, Will hurried towards Mills' fallen body and retrieved his gun. Crawling backwards, Will slammed his own body against the caging of the van. His breath was getting heavier and louder as the back door swung open. Lifting the gun in front of him, Will prepared to fire a bullet. Pressing his finger against the trigger of the gun, he shot a bullet out at the man before him. It missed, though, and the man pointed his own gun at Will. Pulling the trigger again, Will fired off another shot. However, he was unable to fire another bullet off as one entered the right side of his chest. Feeling his heart giving away, Will's grip on the gun loosened and it dropped to the floor. Breathing exhaustedly, he started to fall forward when the man caught him.

Grasping Will by the collar of his outfit, the man dragged him out of the back of the van. Another man appeared from the side and jumped into the van. He stepped out a few seconds later to join the other man beside a black SUV. Will's eyes shuttered closed as the man tossed him into the back of the SUV and hopped in alongside him. The black SUV peeled away from the bridge less than five seconds later. Peering through the rearview mirror, the man that had thrown Will into the SUV watched as the van behind them exploded. Rays of fire and light shot through the air as the van erupted like a volcano. Pieces of metal flew through the air and landed all around the bridge as the black SUV darted away from the scene.

-Four Days Later-

As the hour hand on his black wristwatch ticked on the eight o'clock mark, Jay reached forward for his coffee and took a gulp. Dressed in an army green hoodie, gray jacket, and blue jeans, he sat at a small, square table in the corner of a hotel room and watched the small, twenty-inch TV positioned against the wall. There was a video of Rosalind Freed being taken away in handcuffs. A faint smile appeared on Jay's face as he set the coffee cup on the wooden table.

"Four days ago, Rosalind Freed, the mother of late Homeland Security Deputy Director, Jack Freed, was arrested on the basis of an illegal act of extraordinary rendition of an innocent United States citizen. Chief Justice Pollard announced a set court date of September 30th for the prominent Washington socialite," the woman on the news declared.

Jay was distracted from the rest of the report as his ears were filled with the sound of a toilet flushing. Looking up from the TV, he saw Tyler close the bathroom door behind him. Tyler had changed his appearance yet again. His dirty blonde hair now had no gel in it and he was beginning to grow a goatee. His scruffy appearance matched the dark brown coat he wore over his dark gray sweatshirt and blue jeans. Stretching, he walked over to the other side of the table, across from Jay.

"What are they saying on the news?" Tyler asked.

"Freed's court date's been announced. It's in a week," Jay answered.

"Anything on us?" Tyler questioned.

"Not yet," Jay replied listlessly.

Nodding, Tyler closed his eyes and rubbed his fingers against his face. "What are we doing, Jay?" Tyler asked.

"I don't know, Ty. I'm as clueless as you are right now."

"Where the hell is Anselmo? We've been sitting here since last night and he still hasn't shown back up!"

"Calm down, Tyler. Getting angry over this isn't gonna help," Jay told his friend. Shrugging, he added, "He's probably just getting some supplies."

"It doesn't take a whole night to do that," Tyler said, shaking his head. Suddenly, his attention was diverted to the TV screen.

"In other news," the news anchor began, "we have new information on the FBI transport van that was attacked four days ago on the Manhattan Bridge."

"Turn it up. Jay, turn it up," Tyler urged, pointing to the TV.

"I got it! I got it!" Jay impatiently replied as he pressed the volume up button on the small, black remote.

"While it was earlier believed that Will Traveler was amongst those that perished in the explosion of the van, it has recently been disclosed by FBI officials that one of the bodies in the van did not belong to Will Traveler, aka Stephen Mailer. The FBI has refused to disclose whose body it was, but they have now changed Traveler's status to 'not captured' and believe he is still on the run. Whether or not he is still with Jay Burchell and Tyler Fog, the other two Drexler Bombing suspects, is unknown at this point."

Staring at the screen in disbelief, Jay mumbled, "Will's still alive."

-The Shelter, Manhattan-

"As the debate between Presidential front runner, David Browning and current President, Howard Shears, comes nearer, President Shears has announced a fund-raiser dinner in New York City. He will be in New York for the next three days getting to know everyone around the city he calls home. Today, his first pit stop in the grand city of New York will be the site of the Freedom Tower, planned to be erected in the year 2012…" a news reporter's voice trailed off. The sound of the voice was close, but sounded distant and vacant. It seemed blocked by something and was a bit blurred.

Will Traveler's eyes fluttered open uneasily to an unfamiliar and hazy room. Struggling to awaken, Will looked around the whitewashed room with hazy eyes. From what he could see, he was being held in a hospital room. Across from his bed, he could barely make out the eerie figure of a tall, medium-built man with short, balding, brown hair. Breathing heavily, Will attempted to sit up.

Noticing Will had gotten up, the figure across the room turned away from the window and walked towards him. Slivers of sunlight shining in through the half-closed blinds illuminated his old, haggard face. The man stalked towards Will's bed and stopped at its foot.

"Good to see you're finally awake," the man said in a kind voice.

"Who… are you?" Will muttered breathlessly.

"Oh, yes, it must still be hard for you to see, right?" the man replied. Walking across the room, he flipped open the light switch by the door. Immediately, Will shut his eyes and looked away. Slowly, he eased his eyes open and stared at the man before him. His eyes widened quickly and his mouth gaped open. "Can you see better now?"

"P-President Shears?" Will mouthed.

Smiling, the President of the United States nodded at Will and said, "That's me."

"Wh-Where am I?" Will wanted to know. He looked around the room again. His body was hooked up to a strange machine he had no name for and there was a small cart of medical tools beside his bed. There was a metal table across the room with two chairs on either side of it. Other than that, the hospital room was rather empty.

Looking around as if he was oblivious, President Shears said, "You're in a hospital."

"What happened to me?" Will asked.

"You were shot," Shears answered. Pointing to Will's chest, he said, "Can't you tell?"

Looking down to where Shears pointed, Will saw the bandages wrapped around the right side of his chest. Lifting his right hand up to feel the wound, he realized he was handcuffed to the bed post. Wrestling the cuff from the post, he shouted, "What's this for?!"

"Isn't it obvious?" Shears asked. His calm, friendly, and insensible demeanor suddenly turned into a stern, tyrannical one. "You're a dangerous person, Will Traveler. We wouldn't want anything to go wrong here at the Shelter."

"The Shelter?" Will repeated with a perplexed expression on his face.

Sighing, Shears replied, "You'll learn more later. For now, just rest."

"Why am I here?" Will shouted as Shears started for the door.

Pulling the door open, Shears held it ajar and turned his head to face Will. Though he was smiling faintly, there was a menacing air about him as he said in a hushed tone, "Our country needs you."

-Queens, NY-

The alarm clock beside her bed rudely awakened Kim Doherty. She hadn't been able to get much sleep the past few days and every second of rest she did get was precious to her. Groaning, she reached over with her left hand and pressed the button atop the black alarm clock to turn off the annoying beep. Sighing restlessly, she rubbed her hands across her face and sat up. She felt the warm air coming from the heater and felt the need to pull off the blankets covering her body. All she wore underneath was a white tank top with a pair of pink shorts.

As her legs hung over the side of her bed, she proceeded to stand. Her left foot dropped to the ground first. As soon as her foot touched the carpeted ground of her bedroom, she noticed the glaringly obvious ankle bracelet strapped to her left foot. Bending over, she touched the warm plastic and shook her head in dismay. The FBI had fitted her with it just in case she tried to leave her parents' house. Irritated, Kim stuck her finger between the tiny space in between her ankle and the bracelet and scratched her creamy, smooth skin with her trimmed nails.

Stretching her right arm over her head, Kim started for the door and headed down the hallway toward the stairs. She grabbed a hold of the railing on the side and climbed down.

"Kim, is that you?!" she heard a gruff, familiar voice calling.

"Yeah, Dad! Who else would it be?" Kim asked as she continued down the staircase.

"Come to the kitchen. Breakfast is ready!" Mr. Doherty shouted back. He didn't care he had just been insulted by his daughter. He was just happy to have her back. No matter how much the two of them were unable to get along, he was relieved to know he hadn't lost his daughter completely. Kim turned the corner and entered the kitchen. Mr. Doherty lifted a black pan off the hot stove and walked it over to the kitchen table. "Scrambled eggs with ham, cheese, and onions – your favorite, remember?"

Kim tried to smile at him; she was happy that her father was genuinely cheerful with her for once. Nodding, she said, "Yeah, Dad, I remember. Thanks."

"Alright now. Just take a seat. Don't strain yourself," Mr. Doherty told her as he pulled a chair out for her.

"C'mon, Dad! I'm not a little girl anymore. I can take care of myself," Kim retorted as she sat down.

"I just don't want you to hurt yourself," Mr. Doherty replied.

"Yeah, Dad, I'm really gonna hurt myself eating breakfast," Kim said with a chuckle and a shake of her head.

Chuckling to himself, Mr. Doherty sat in the chair across from Kim and picked up his fork. As Kim spooned some scrambled eggs onto her plate, her father looked at her with a comforted smile. Noticing her dad's eyes watching her, Kim glanced up to see his smile. Shaking her head, she smiled back happily.

-The Shelter, Manhattan-

Still lying in the hospital bed, Will reached up to his hair with his left hand. Running his fingers through it, he could feel whoever had put him in the Shelter had also hacked his hair. It felt much shorter and choppier than the old shaggy mop he was used to wearing. Touching his face, he noticed the stubble he had grown had been shaved clean off. Will couldn't remember the last time he felt his face so smooth and slick. Sighing, he craned his neck and stared up at the room's pristine white ceiling as he slumped back in bed. He had no time to relax, though, as he heard the door to his room easing open. Snapping his head to the right, he watched as the white door opened.

Carrying a tray of food, President Shears entered the room and closed the door behind him. Walking over to Will's bed, he flashed Will a friendly smile and set the tray down on a tripod set at Will's bedside. Rubbing his hands against one another, Shears walked over to the foot of Will's bed and crossed his arms against his chest.

"What do you want with me?" Will demanded to know.

"Like I said, we need you," Shears answered complacently.

"What use would I be to you?" Will asked, staring at Shears indifferently.

Sighing, Shears nodded and said, "You still haven't figured it out yet, have you?"

"Figured what out?"

"How you got here, why you're still alive – it's all because of us."

"Us? Who's us?" Will questioned.

A smarmy smirk appeared on Shears' face as he answered, "The Fourth Branch."

Will's eyes widened in confusion and shock. His body jolted forward, but the handcuffs on his right wrist held him back. As Will's mouth hung open in disbelief, he asked, "What are you talking about?"

"I should thank you, Will. Ever since Rosalind was apprehended, the Fourth Branch has been under my command," Shears revealed with a sick smile.

"You son of a bitch," Will muttered. "What is this?!"

"You and your friends left quite a mess for us to clean up, Traveler," Shears replied. Striding to the back of the room, Shears grabbed a folded-up newspaper and unfolded it in front of Will. The headline read: _What is the Fourth Branch?_ Under it were the words: _Written by Allison Chambers_. A faint smile appeared on Will's face as he realized what Allison had done. Shears, on the other hand, looked quite the opposite. There was a stern, scornful look on his face as he showed Will the newspaper. "Do you know what this means for us?"

"That you're screwed?"

Faking a smile, Shears replied, "Very funny, but no, it just means we've got much more work to do. You think a simple news article is going to bring us down? No, all that serves to do is satiate the curiosity of those conspiracy theorists."

"It does more than that," Will retorted. "People are gonna start wondering. They're gonna be asking questions."

"People have been asking questions for centuries. Does it look like those questions have done us any harm?" Shears asked unperturbedly. He looked at Will and noticed he had nothing to say. Smirking, he continued, "Some people, they are far too gone to be saved. But you – you, Will – you can still redeem yourself. I'm here to give offer you a new start."

"I don't wanna hear it," Will snappily replied.

"You're going to want to hear this, believe me," Shears said.

"I said, I don't wanna hear it!" Will shouted angrily.

"I want you to work for us again," Shears said, ignoring Will. Will stared up at him with resentment, but it didn't affect Shears one bit. Prodding, he continued, "I'm offering you a clean slate. Your betrayals, your crimes – they will all be forgotten in exchange for you loyalty to our cause."

"Just like that?" Will muttered with a bewildered look on his face. "Just like that, you're going to throw away three months' worth of hunting me down? What's the catch? What do you get out of this?"

Licking his dry lips, President Shears replied, "You were a good agent – one of our best. We could use your help again."

Chuckling inanely, Will retorted, "You really think I'm gonna believe that? That you're just gonna let me back in just 'cause I was a good agent? That's a load of crap!"

Shears smiled contentedly at Will and said, "Fine. You want the truth then listen closely." Shears walked away from the foot of Will's bed and strode over to the window. Sunlight bathed his old, wrinkly face as he stood in front of the wide, clean window. Looking out over the busy street below him, he started, "Many years ago, during the '60s and '90s, the leaders of this country went through a grueling battle. Infighting plagued us and weakened us. Our ranks became divided. Though you may know the Fourth Branch as a single body, you are quite wrong. Currently, there are two sides vying for control of this nation."

"What does this have to do with me?" Will questioned.

Turning away from the window, Shears faced Will with a stoic, stern look and said, "I want you to fight for our side, Traveler. We've lost many agents and representatives over time."

"What do I get out of fighting for your side? I'd rather die than help some scumbags take over this country!" Will spat back.

"Will, you join our side and your friends – they will be let free. Enough damage has already been done to our side. Our enemies will surely swoop down soon and finish off the rest," Shears replied. "That means we've got bigger things to handle than your little friends. You and your friends – you were just the first wave. This upcoming battle – that is the real war."

Will stared down at his bed sheets with a perplexed and wondrous look. "If I join your side, my friends are going to be left alone?"

"You have my word."

With a haggard and weary expression on his face, Will looked up at Shears and opened his mouth to speak.

-Manhattan, NY-

Both Jay and Tyler looked up at the door to their hotel room as it began to open. In alarm, Jay reached under his jacket for the gun holstered there. Holding onto it shakily, he waited to see what was on the other side of the door. Pushing the door open, the Porter walked over to one of the beds in the room and dropped a gray duffel bag on top of it. Turning back to the door, he closed it and made sure to lock it.

"Hey, we need to talk to you," Jay said as he stuffed the gun back down his pants. The Porter seemed to ignore him as he unzipped the duffel bag. "Hey, I'm talking to you!"

"What is it?" the Porter asked, spinning around.

"Will's still alive," Jay told him.

"I already know that," the Porter answered.

"If you knew he was alive, why didn't you tell us?!" Tyler asked agitatedly.

"Because I felt it wasn't important," the Porter calmly replied.

"Not important? We thought our friend was dead for four days and you didn't think it was important to tell us he was still breathing?!" Tyler retorted.

"Calm down," the Porter said. "Yelling at me will not change anything."

Tyler shook his head in irritation and grumbled as he ran his fingers through his hair. Walking back towards the window, he asked, "Where is he then?"

"I don't know," the Porter answered as he went back to his duffel bag.

"How'd you know he was alive then?" Jay questioned.

Looking up, the Porter answered, "Like I told you, they would need him."

"Why? What could they possibly need Will for?" Jay asked.

"Well, for one thing: he could be used as bait to drag you two in," the Porter said. "That's why I didn't tell you anything."

"You should've told us from the beginning!" Jay shouted.

"Then you would've run off to rescue him and gotten yourselves caught."

Understanding the Porter, Jay nodded his head. As angry as he was, he knew what the Porter was saying was right. He sighed and put his hands on his waist as he paced across the room. Watching the Porter reach into his duffel bag, Jay asked, "What's in there?"

"Supplies," the Porter answered. He pulled out a large, black laptop and set it on the bed. Reaching back into the bag, he pulled out several handguns along with extra ammunition.

"It took you the whole night to get those things?" Tyler asked, leaning against the windowsill.

"I had other business to take care of," the Porter replied.

"What kind of business?" Jay wondered.

"You don't need to know."

"I think we deserve to know!" Jay shouted, grabbing the Porter by his shoulder. "If we're going to work together, we need to know everything that's going on!"

"If I told you everything, it would just get complicated," the Porter answered, shoving Jay away. "Take comfort in knowing that immersed in this world yet."

"What are you talking about?" Tyler asked, grimacing at the Porter. "We took that dip the moment the Drexler blew up."

The Porter stared up at Tyler with a stern, stoic look. Behind his cold, dead eyes, though, there was fire and anger. He bottled it up inside, though, as he shoved the supplies back into the duffel bag.

"Tell us what you were doing," Jay demanded.

"Fine," the Porter said, standing straight. "I was getting more information from the Baron."

"What'd he say?" Jay asked to know.

"Your girlfriend, Kim, is still in FBI custody. They're not looking to release her any time soon," the Porter revealed.

"We gotta go save her then! They think she's an accomplice in the bombing! They'll put her back in jail!" Jay nervously shouted.

"Calm down," the Porter firmly said. "She's our first priority already, considering she's the one with the rest of your evidence."

"You don't think the FBI's already taken it?" Tyler asked.

"If the FBI already had the rest of your evidence, we wouldn't need to rescue her," the Porter answered. "No, she had to have hidden it somewhere."

"So what's the plan?" Jay asked.

-The Shelter, Manhattan-

The bright, fluorescent lights lining the ceiling of the Shelter illuminated the long hallways and rooms. Men and women dressed in a variety of clothing from business suits to nursing scrubs passed by one another back and forth throughout the large facility. Parallel to one another along the numerous hallways were white doors. Some had control panels mounted on the wall beside them, but others were simply, ordinary doors. The floor of the Shelter was spic and span; no dust or grime touched the sleek, white floor. The sound of footsteps tapping against the smooth floor echoed throughout the facility.

Walking down an empty stretch of hallway somewhere in the facility were President Shears and Daniel McCarthy. Like a well-oiled machine, everything about McCarthy was precise and calculated. His dark brown hair was smoothly slicked back across the top of his head and his black tie was perfectly adjusted to the buttoned-up white shirt he wore. Even the navy blue suit he wore was pressed, clean, and perfectly ironed just like the heavy, black jacket he wore over it. Hidden behind the right tail of his jacket, comfortably close to his trigger finger, was a black Heckler & Koch USP .45, the same gun Will was so used to using. McCarthy stuck his smooth hands into the pockets of his jacket as he strolled down the empty passage with the President of the United States.

"Are you sure it was a good idea to pull me off the Chambers case, President? I think I'd be of much more use on the field than in some office," McCarthy said.

"Are you questioning my judgment, Agent McCarthy?" President Shears asked, glaring into McCarthy's eyes.

McCarthy paused in his step for a second then shook his head. "No, sir, it's just that I think I'm more effective on the field with a gun than in the office with a headset."

"I have much confidence in your abilities, Agent McCarthy, but I believe this is a much more important assignment than chasing down some girl," Shears replied.

"Speaking of this assignment, you still haven't told me anything," McCarthy said, stopping in front of a door.

Shears sighed and looked at McCarthy's strong, stoic face. Nodding, he divulged, "I'm assigning you to supervise a new agent of ours – Will Traveler."

"Will Traveler? The Will Traveler?!" McCarthy shouted in shock.

"Yes, that Will Traveler."

"You're just allowing him to join us?" McCarthy asked in disbelief.

"I don't think you're looking at the big picture here, Agent McCarthy," Shears said. "We need him. He is the key to winning this war."

"War?"

"Our enemies are beginning to move, McCarthy" Shears replied. "Ever since the recent debacles – Freed being exposed, the Chambers girl's newspaper article – they've known how weak we've become. Eventually, they will strike."

"How's making Traveler into one of our own going to help us?" McCarthy questioned.

Instead of answering, Shears simply smiled back at McCarthy and stretched his hand over to the control panel beside the door. Tapping three numbers on the number pad, he pressed his thumb against a scanner on the side and waited for the red light to turn green. Once it did, he heard the lock on the door loosen and he pushed the door open.

Standing inside the room was Will Traveler. He had been uncuffed from the bedpost and given new clothes. Instead of the loose, white shreds he was wearing earlier, he was now dressed in a dark gray t-shirt with a pair of black sweatpants. He stood over at the open window, leaning over the windowsill and sticking his head outside. The blowing wind brushed his disheveled hair back. Once he heard the door behind him open, he immediately turned around. Shears flashed him a smile as he led McCarthy over to where he stood.

"Will, I'd like you to meet Daniel McCarthy," President Shears said, pointing his hand at McCarthy. Will looked over at the tall, burly man and scanned him. Like a robot, he observed every little bit of McCarthy, from the way he kept his nails trimmed and clean to the way his dark brown hair was slicked back nicely across his round head.

"Nice to meet you," McCarthy said, smiling. He reached his hand out for a shake, prompting Will to do the same. Reluctantly shaking hands, McCarthy and Will smiled at one another. "How's the wound?" McCarthy asked, pointing to his own chest.

Will had completely forgotten about the bullet hole on the right side of his chest. There wasn't much pain left there. It felt like he'd never gotten shot. Nodding, he replied, "It's fine. I don't feel a thing anymore."

"Good. Good," McCarthy replied, nodding.

"Will, Agent McCarthy here will be your new supervising agent," Shears said. "You remember how things work right? Chain of command."

"Yeah, I remember," Will answered.

Shears nodded and said, "Then I'll leave the two of you to get to know one another. I have some business to attend to so you won't be seeing me for a while. I hope you both have a good day."

"Yes, sir," McCarthy said as he followed Shears to the door. Shears nodded back at him as he closed the door behind him and headed down the hallway. Turning around to face Will, McCarthy asked, "Would you like to see around the Shelter?"

-Manhattan, NY-

St. Vincent's Hospital in Upper Manhattan was an average-sized building with a normal influx of patients and visitors. Recently, though, there had been many visitors coming to the hospital. Standing outside the hospital, beside the large sign that brightly read 'St. Vincent's Hospital', was a crowd of reporters accompanied by several cameramen. Two security guards stood at the hospital entrance, guarding it from the number of reporters flocking to the sight.

Coming from the parking lot was a skinny, middle-aged bald man in a beige suit. He held a black briefcase in one hand as he carried himself over to the entrance. Before he could get there, though, a man in a black suit with a blue undershirt approached him. The bald man stared at him with a confused look as the man extended a hand out to him.

"James Henderson," the man said quickly. "Nice to meet ya'. You're Raymond Wells?"

"Yes. Who are you?" Mr. Wells asked, still confused as he shook the man's hand.

"I just told ya'. I'm James Henderson," Henderson replied. "You don't know that name?"

"I'm sorry, I don't. Should I know it?"

Henderson grunted then shook his head. "Whatever. That's not important right now. What is important, though, is that you allow me to see your client!"

Wells shook his head firmly and looked around the parking lot. There were dozens more of these reporters running about. Waving his hand in front of Henderson's face, he shook his head again and said, "No, I'm sorry. That's not possible right now."

"Please, Mr. Wells! I need to see him!" Henderson shouted at Mr. Wells' back. Ignoring him, Wells continued walking to the door. Persistently, Henderson ran over to him and grabbed his hand. Swiftly, he shoved several bills into Wells' hand, prompting him to turn around. "Please, Mr. Wells."

Wells stared at Henderson with an appalled look for a moment. Sighing, he turned to the two guards at the entrance then nodded. Like a little child, Henderson gleefully smiled and followed Wells into the hospital.

"Thank you, Mr. Wells! Thank you!" Henderson joyously shouted.

"I'm giving you ten minutes," Wells told him, pointing a finger in his face. "Is that understood? Ten minutes!"

Nodding profusely, Henderson repeated, "Yes! Yes! That's enough time!"

Shaking his head at his own disappointment, Wells pressed the button on the elevator panel. "Listen, he's still not doing too well so he may not be able to talk that much."

"I understand," Henderson replied. "When did he wake up?"

The elevator door opened and Wells stepped inside, followed by Henderson. "Just yesterday morning."

Henderson nodded happily as he waited for the elevator doors to open up again. Once they reached the fourth floor of the hospital, the doors slid open and Henderson hurriedly followed Wells down the hallway. Wells stopped in front of Room 404 and grabbed the metal door handle.

"Remember, make this quick," Wells reminded Henderson.

"I got it! I got it!" Henderson replied.

Sighing again, Wells twisted the doorknob and pushed the door open. "Mr. Fog, someone's here to speak with you."

Lying in the hospital bed was Gabriel Fog. There were bandages wrapped around the upper half of his torso. An intravenous needle was stuck to his inner right elbow and connected to a large machine at his bedside. His breathing was loud and heavy as he stared at the doorway at Wells and Henderson.

The Queensboro Bridge was congested with traffic. Dozens and dozens of various cars and vehicles were passing along the bridge in order to get passed the East River. After the explosion on the Manhattan Bridge four days ago, the bridge had been deemed disabled. While the damage wasn't far too severe, it was enough that it would take over several weeks to complete reconstruction. In the meantime, most commuters had to go through Queensboro Bridge in order to get to Queens and Brooklyn.

The Porter's car was among those stuck in traffic. While he had a stoic and collected face on, Tyler appeared bored and exasperated while Jay appeared apprehensive and tense. The two college grads kept craning their necks to look through traffic. Slapping his hand on the dashboard, Tyler sighed and slumped back in his chair.

"It'll take hours to get through here!" he angrily complained.

"Be patient. There's enough time," the Porter told him. "Kim Doherty is not going anywhere."

"You're sure she's at her parents' house?" Jay asked, leaning forward.

"If my intel's correct, then yes, she is still under house arrest at her parents'."

"We need to hurry then!" Jay replied. "If we know where she is, then the Fourth Branch knows too. You know how they work. They'll be coming for her!"

"Don't worry," the Porter said. He turned and looked at Jay with a calm, straight face. "If they know where she is, they're not just going to come and assassinate her just like that. They may send their people there, but there's no chance they're gonna act on anything this soon. They'll wait it out till she's on the move."

Sighing, Jay looked outside the window at the crowd of cars building up on the bridge. Whispering, almost to himself, he muttered, "Let's just get there."

-The Shelter, Manhattan-

Will felt uneasy as he walked around the large, whitewashed facility alongside someone meant to be his enemy. The whole time he felt ready to fight; each quick movement McCarthy made prompted Will's reflexes to go off. As Will followed his new supervisor down the length hallway, he couldn't help but notice how bright and white everything in the building was. The light bulbs up on the ceiling emitted an intensely vibrant white light that bounced off the solid white paint covering the cold, cement walls. There was an eerie feeling of isolation as well since there were very few people around. For the whole five minutes he'd been walking around the hospital, Will had only counted one person passing by them.

"The Shelter's actually a pretty big place. The hospital we're in – or the East Wing as it's formally called – is only one of the four wings in the whole facility," McCarthy said as if he were a tour guide.

"Where is this place?" Will asked as he looked around. "Are we still in New York?"

"Yup. We're in Manhattan actually, near the East River," McCarthy answered.

Will nodded and questioned, "Why doesn't there seem to be many people around here?"

"As a cover, the Shelter is meant to be a CIA operations facility," McCarthy began. "Only a handful of people know what the Shelter actually is. That's why we don't have very many agents working here. A majority of the workers here in the East Wing are ordinary nurses and doctors."

"And the rest of the building?"

"Pretty much the same."

Nodding, Will followed McCarthy down a hallway until they stopped in front of a large, mechanical door at the end. Will watched as McCarthy entered a code into the control panel and scanned his thumb print against it. The technology here seemed much more advanced than the other Hometown-run facilities. The one Will remembered staying at looked to be an ordinary abandoned warehouse.

"Where are we going?" Will asked as the mechanical door slid open.

McCarthy led Will into another monotonously white hallway as he answered, "You'll see."

A few seconds later, they were at the end of the hallway, which seemed to curve around. Again, McCarthy typed something into the control panel and pressed his thumb against the scanner. As the red light moving back and forth across the screen like a game of Pong turned green, the mechanical door slid open both ways.

"What is this place?" Will mumbled to himself.

Instead of answering, McCarthy showed Will into a giant area resembling the mission control room in NASA facilities. There were two floors to the area; one of the floors circled around the other one with stairs leading from one floor to the other. This was the only room Will had seen in the Shelter that wasn't completely white. The room was a black color with strips of green light pervading the walls. Both floors of the room consisted of several computers and chairs, most of which were filled up by agents with headsets around their heads. Along one wall was a giant video screen. Beside it was a wall of smaller, various sized screens. At the moment, they were all turned off and the screens showed nothing but blackness.

McCarthy scanned the area before he found a woman in black standing in the middle of the top floor. As he led Will over to her, she noticed them and turned her head. The woman appeared to be in her late-twenties to early-thirties, but she was quite beautiful nonetheless. She was of average height and weight and had a gorgeous, pronounced face. She had high cheekbones and soft, pouty lips. There was a distinct exotic look about her as she gazed up at Will through the lens of her square-framed glasses. Her wavy brunette hair slipped back behind her tiny shoulders as she turned to greet McCarthy and Will.

"Who's the kid?" she asked, pointing at Will with a slender finger.

"This is Will Traveler. He's - " Before McCarthy could say any more, the woman interrupted him.

"Will Traveler?" the woman repeated. "Wasn't there a kill-on-sight order for Will Traveler just a few months ago?"

McCarthy smiled and looked over at Will. "Yeah, well, things change."

Sarcastically, Will said, "Nice to meet you too."

The woman chuckled at him and extended her hand. "I'm Antonella Ramos."

"Apparently, you already know who I am so I guess I'll just be quiet," Will replied.

"That'd be a good idea," Antonella said, smiling wryly at him.

McCarthy chuckled a little and said to Antonella, "Traveler here is going to be working on our side from now on. I've been transplanted back here by President Shears to supervise him."

"I see," Antonella sighed. She looked Will over for a few seconds then asked, "Is he up to it? Wasn't he just in a coma yesterday?"

"He won't be given any assignments this soon of course," McCarthy replied. Startled as if he forgot something, McCarthy turned to Will and said, "Sorry, I forgot to tell you – Ms. Ramos here is my second-in-command. Since you're under my supervision from now on, you'll be answering to her as well."

"Awesome," Will sarcastically replied. Ignoring the two, he began wandering around the room with his eyes. It amazed him to see how advanced the control center seemed. "What are you guys doing in here? Is there a mission going on?"

Antonella opened her mouth to say something, but McCarthy stopped her in time. Facing Will, he said, "No. They're just testing the systems, seeing if they're working correctly. There have been several problems with our programs lately so we just wanna see if everything's in order."

Will nodded complacently, but in the back of his mind, he knew McCarthy was lying to him. In his head, he chuckled to himself, but on the surface, he showed no sign of emotion. Did McCarthy really think he was that dumb? Will glanced at his new boss out of the corner of his eye and saw the man leering at him as well. Averting his eyes from McCarthy, Will walked over to the ledge lining the top floor. He leaned over it and peered down at the floor below. As he stared down at the floor below, Will's mind churned over what he was doing, whether it was right, or if he was just being played. No doubt about it, there was another reason for Shears wanting to enlist his help. Whatever it was, Will was determined to find out. Suddenly, his body jerked up at the touch of a hand on his shoulder.

"Did I startle you?" McCarthy asked with a friendly smile as Will turned around.

Faking a friendly chuckle, Will replied, "Sorry. I kinda zoned out there."

Nodding back, McCarthy motioned for Will to follow him as he said, "C'mon. Let me show the rest of the building."

Will nodded and followed McCarthy away from the control center. Turning around, he noticed Antonella was still watching him. As he headed out the door, Antonella's eyes pierced his body. She didn't seem to care one bit that Will noticed her staring at him. Even as the mechanical door closed, separating them, Will could see her staring him down with her hazel-nut eyes.

As soon as the doors closed behind Will Traveler, Antonella picked up the clipboard from the black desk in front of her and brought it back up to her face. Tapping the end of her pen against the clipboard, she ordered one of her men, "Alright, put the intel back up!"

One of the agents seated to her left typed away on a keyboard, prompting the video screens to pop back up. The largest of the video screens was split into three smaller screens. The top left screen showed an image of Jay Burchell while the screen beside it showed Tyler Fog. Underneath the two screens was a digital map of New York with red dots in several places. On the smaller screens to the side, there were images of Jay's mother, Tyler's father and brother, and Kim Doherty.

"Okay, where are we on Burchell and Fog?!" Antonella shouted over the ruckus of machines in the room.

An agent seated behind Antonella raised his voice and replied, "We don't have a definite location for either of the boys, but we're still certain they haven't left New York."

"What about their relatives and friends?" Antonella asked.

"Felicia Cruz, Burchell's mother, has had no contact with either of them. Same with Carlton and Gabriel Fog. Both of them are still hospitalized and we definitely would have found them by now if they went to see them," another agent answered.

"And Doherty?"

"She's under FBI custody on house arrest and locked down by an ankle bracelet. There are two FBI agents on guard at all hours of the day."

Nodding, Antonella stared at the screen as if she was calculating how to solve a problem. The gears in her head began rotating as her eyes shifted all across the various screens along the wall. Turning to her men, she instructed, "Send two of our assets to Doherty's residence to scout the place out. If Burchell and Fog know Doherty is there, they're going to go there first!"

-Queens, NY-

Dressed in a blue sweater and denim jeans, Kim walked down the hallway of her house towards the living room. As she passed by the row of windows along the wall, she stopped and reached for the tan-colored drapes covering the windows. Moving the lace drapes aside, she looked out the window at the black sedan parked across the street. Though the windows were tinted, Kim knew for sure that there were people inside. The car had been outside since two days ago when she was released on house arrest. Sighing idly, Kim walked away from the window and headed into the living room.

Being stuck in the house all day by herself was not at all was she expected to be doing after college. Her mother had gone to work early in the morning and wouldn't be back for at least three more hours. Her father had just left an hour ago and wouldn't be home till later that night. Kim plopped herself down on the couch and put her feet up on the coffee table. Grabbing the television remote, she turned the TV on and changed the channel to the news station.

The first thing she saw on the channel was an image of Rosalind Freed, staring right at the TV screen. Ever since Jay, Tyler, and Will's exposure of Freed, there had been a media blitz on the subject. For four days straight that was all Kim seemed to see on the news, radio, and newspaper. While she was beginning to get tired of it, Kim couldn't help but feel proud and happy that the tyrant was finally going to be put away.

"Why did you do it? What compelled you to commit such horrendous acts?" the middle-aged man interviewing Freed questioned.

"Do what?" Rosalind Freed asked, acting confused and dignified.

"Conspire to assassinate several people and order an innocent young woman's rendition among other things," the interviewer replied.

"How are you so sure all the allegations made against me are true?" Rosalind asked, leaning forward. "For all you know, that woman is crazy and has no clue about what she was talking about."

"The woman who brought this evidence to light is a Yale graduate."

"She was also visibly tortured for several weeks, maybe months," Rosalind replied.

"So you admit to knowing she was tortured?"

"I'm not saying I had any part in it, but it's obvious from her visage that she has gone through a lot," Rosalind said, doing her best to make herself sound saintly and innocent. Kim scoffed at her image and shook her head.

"Among the evidence given to the FBI was a recording of your voice arranging for the return of Kim Doherty. How can you explain that?" the interviewer questioned, pushing the black microphone towards Rosalind's lips.

Rosalind looked at the interviewer for a moment with a nervous look on her face. Gulping, she began to look around the room for an exit. Kim smiled to herself as she watched Rosalind squirming. Stuttering, she said, "N-No more questions. I'm done with this interview!"

As Rosalind stood up from her chair and stomped away, Kim chuckled lightly and changed the channel.

The Porter parked the car along the sidewalk a few houses down from Kim's. The FBI's black sedan was still parked across the street from Kim's house. The Porter made sure to park far enough that the men in the vehicle were unable to see them. Fortunately, his car had lightly tinted windows so it'd be harder to make out the people behind the glass. Turning the car's engine off, the Porter unstrapped his seatbelt and grabbed his binoculars again.

"We're just gonna sit here?" Tyler asked as he watched the Porter pick up his binoculars.

"It's called a stakeout," the Porter replied. "Smart people do not go in without a plan. We need to observe the area first."

"Why don't we just go walk in there? Her dad's car isn't there," Tyler said, pointing at Kim's driveway.

Bringing his binoculars down from his face, the Porter turned to Tyler with a stern face then pointed at the black sedan across the street from Kim's house. "In that car are two FBI agents watching the house," the Porter said. "We even step out of this car without any kind of plan and they will apprehend us."

"How are you sure they're FBI?" Jay asked, leaning in between the two front seats.

"There's no way, the Feds would just let your girlfriend be. It's obvious they would have somebody watching her here," the Porter answered as he brought the binoculars back up to his eyes.

"We don't have long to do this, y'know," Jay said. "Kim's parents will be home by tonight."

"It's not going to take that long."

-The Shelter, Manhattan-

Will stood in the center of an average-sized storage room, surrounded on all four sides by shelves and shelves of weapons. There seemed to be enough weaponry in the room to arm an entire army. Sitting against the edge of a black desk across from him stood a young man with a quirky smile on his face. The young man had short, dark brown hair and brown eyes. It looked like he hadn't shaved in days since there was stubble running across his jaw. His wiry body was clothed in a white sweater under a black hooded jacket. He stuck his hands down the pockets of his blue jeans as he smiled at Will.

"You like what you see?" the young man asked.

"Sure," Will replied listlessly.

"You don't sound too amazed," McCarthy noted as he ran his hand across a shelf of automatic rifles.

"What? You don't think I've seen a room full of weapons before?" Will asked almost offended.

Chuckling, McCarthy replied, "I guess it should've been expected, considering your background." Will shrugged and smiled silently to himself as he looked up and down across a shelf of guns. "Anyway, this is Gavin March. He's our weapons expert here."

"Nice to meet you," Gavin said, raising his hand to wave at Will.

Will nodded at him and replied, "Nice to meet you too."

"I've heard about you," Gavin said with a childlike glee. Smiling, he hopped off the edge of his desk and continued, "Heard how you botched the Drexler bombing and had our guys huntin' you and your friends down for a few months. Impressive."

Will laughed at the young man for a moment then nodded his head. Sighing, he replied, "I guess so, huh?" He looked over at McCarthy almost tauntingly, but McCarthy simply smiled in response.

"I'm pretty sure you've had enough of this place by now, right?" McCarthy said. Motioning for Will to follow him, he added, "C'mon, let me show you to your room."

"Back to the hospital?" Will guessed as he followed McCarthy out of the weapons storage room.

"No; most of our in-house agents stay in the quarters we've built for them in the North Wing. Makes things move easier, faster, y'know," McCarthy replied.

Nodding his head, Will headed down the stairs and muttered, "I bet."

-Queens, NY-

A swirl of clouds paced slowly across the majestic, blue sky as the sun's orange rays shot down at the neighborhood below. An old, white Volkswagen Beetle creaked down the street passed the black sedan and the Porter's vehicle. Tyler glanced at it for a second as it drove by his side. Bored, he sighed and laid his head against the window of the car.

"We've been here for over an hour," he commented. The tone of his voice suggested his irritation and impatience at waiting. "What are we doing?"

"Listen to me," the Porter firmly said. "One day, you are going to be on your own and when that day comes you better be ready to survive. Running into things headfirst like in the movies will not save you in the world you've gotten into; it will only get you killed."

"Waiting here for something to happen isn't going to help us save Kim either," Tyler retorted. Waving his hand at the FBI car, he said, "They don't know you. You could easily just go over there and kill them!"

Immediately, Jay jumped forward in his seat and turned to Tyler. "Tyler, what are you saying?"

"I'm saying…" his voice began to trail off.

"You can't seriously be suggesting we just go over there and kill them, do you? They're innocent people; they're just doing their jobs," Jay told him.

"What makes you so sure they're innocent, huh?" Tyler replied.

"What makes you so sure they're not?"

"Experience, Jay!" Tyler shouted. "In case you haven't been paying attention the past few months we haven't really ran into too many people that were innocent."

"That doesn't justify us killing them."

"Quiet down!" the Porter ordered. "No one is going to do anything rash. We're staying in here and waiting for the time to move."

Tyler shook his head in anger and bit his lower lip. He turned away from the Porter and stared outside the window. Walking down the sidewalk across the street was a man and a woman. The man wore a black track jacket with a pair of gray sweats while the woman wore a white sweater and black sweatpants. They seemed to be an ordinary couple. The man turned and looked over at Kim's house as they passed by. At his side, the woman turned her head and began mumbling something to the side. Tyler furrowed his brow at the couple and watched them intently as they passed by the black sedan.

"What's going on?" Tyler muttered as the couple knocked on the driver side and passenger side windows.

The Porter immediately turned his binoculars to the black sedan and watched as the windows rolled down. As soon as the tinted windows came down, the couple produced a pair of pistols with silencers attached to them. The two agents in the car didn't even have time to respond before the man and woman killed them with shots to the head. The Porter watched through his binoculars as blood splattered across the dashboard and windshield of the vehicle. Once the two agents went down, the man and woman opened the doors and began to roll the windows up from the inside.

"What the hell just happened?!" Tyler shouted, breathing heavily.

"They're making their move now?" the Porter mumbled to himself in disbelief.

"What do we do? What do we do?!" Jay repeated in the backseat.

"Quiet down!" the Porter ordered as he watched the couple walking up the front steps of Kim's home.

"We have to stop them! They're gonna kill Kim!" Jay yelled as he turned to open the door.

The Porter pressed one of the buttons at his side, causing Jay's door to lock. He turned around and glared at Jay as he retorted, "We cannot start a firefight in the middle of some neighborhood!"

"I'm not going to let them kill Kim!" Jay shouted back. He looked out the windshield and saw the couple had entered the house. He reached for his door and attempted to open it, but it wouldn't budge.

"Stay here! I'll handle this!" the Porter told Jay. He unlocked his door and proceeded to step out.

Inside her parents' home, Kim grabbed a donut from an orange box inside the kitchen. Biting into the ring-shaped sweet, she walked back towards her living room. As she passed by the hallway, she noticed her front door was left open. She strode over to it and looked outside at her front porch.

"What the hell?" she mumbled. There was nothing there; the black sedan was still across the street and there were no people walking around. Furrowing her brow in confusion, she closed the door and locked it.

Walking back to the living room, she took another bite from the donut. Suddenly, she dropped it as she felt a bullet whiz right past her face. Ducking to the ground, she scurried across the hallway and around a wall. Coming out from one of the rooms was the woman holding a silenced pistol. Training the gun in front of her, the woman scanned the area. She got around the corner and turned to see if Kim was there. She had disappeared.

Heading further down the hallway, she kept her gun aimed forward. Her eyes darted throughout the hallway as she proceeded down into the dark end. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw someone approaching and turned. Immediately, she pulled the trigger, but her aim was off as a large brown book smacked her across the face. The bullet zipped past Kim's abdomen as she hurried away from her father's library. Rising to her feet, the woman picked her gun back up and fired down the hall after Kim. However, Kim managed to dodge the shots as she ducked her head and weaved through the hall.

Turning the corner, Kim started towards the front door, but stopped when she saw the other assassin jogging the stairs. He aimed down at her and fired, but Kim quickly turned and ran away. Joining up in the middle of the hallway, the two assassins motioned to one another to circle around and trap Kim. Nodding in agreement, they parted ways and headed for the back of the house through different directions.

The female assassin stalked down one hallway while her partner headed through the living room. There was a door on the other side of the living room that led into the dining hall. He headed into it and kicked open the door.

Outside Kim's house, Jay nervously tapped his fingers against the headrest of the driver's seat. Biting his teeth together, he said to Tyler, "I can't just sit here, Ty." Shaking his head, he jumped into the driver's seat and opened the door.

"Wait! Jay, where are you going?!" Tyler shouted after him.

"I have to get her out of there!" Jay yelled back as he hurried down the sidewalk.

"Son of a bitch," Tyler muttered under his breath. Opening his own door, he followed after Jay and ran up the front steps of Kim's house. He reached for the handle of the door and turned. "Door's locked," he said to Jay.

Walking over to one of the windows, Jay pushed it forward and up, forcing it open. Waving for Tyler to follow him, he hopped into the house and ran down the hallway. Shaking his head in disagreement, Tyler jumped in after his friend and followed him down the hall. The two reached the dining room just as the two assassins did. The female assassin pointed her gun at Jay while the other one aimed his at Kim, who was hiding under the table.

"Jay!" Kim screamed.

Ignoring the female assassin, Jay rushed at the man before he could pull the trigger on Kim. Suddenly, another gun went off and the female assassin dropped to her knees. As she fell, she raised the gun up and aimed it, but another bullet came in through her head, putting her out forever.

From behind, the Porter appeared and aimed his gun at the other assassin. He was unable to get a clear shot, though, as Jay wrestled the man against the wall. Jay slammed the assassin's hand against the cabinet, but the man fought back with a knee to Jay's groin. Losing power, Jay released the man's wrist. Kicking Jay backwards, the assassin brought up his gun. Before he could fire, though, the Porter shot a bullet into his shoulder, causing him to stagger to the side. He turned and aimed his gun at the Porter, but again, the Porter put a bullet in him. This time, his body fell to the floor and shook in pain.

"I thought I told you to stay in the car!" the Porter shouted to Jay as he helped him up.

"You didn't really think we'd listen, did you?" Jay asked.

Grabbing Jay by the collar, the Porter barked, "Listen to me, from this point on, you do everything I tell you to do! You deviate from the plan and I will put you down! Is that clear?"

"No," Jay replied. "You listen to us. We aren't your subordinates."

"Can we save this for later? Please," Tyler said.

"Tyler's right," Kim added. "We have to get out of here. They know where we are."

Nodding, Jay helped Kim up to her feet and led her away from the dining room. However, the Porter put a hand on Jay's shoulder to stop him. "We're going to need to get rid of that first." He pointed the nozzle of his gun down at Kim's ankle bracelet.

After removing Kim's bracelet with some tools, the Porter turned to his new companions and warned, "The police will be here soon. We have to get going."

"Just a sec," Kim said. "I just need to do something." She hurried to one of the cabinets and pulled out a pencil and notepad.

"What's that?" Jay asked.

"For my dad," Kim replied as she scribbled something onto the piece of paper. Leaving it on the kitchen table, she turned to her friends and nodded.

"Let's get going," Tyler said as he hurried out the house.

The four of them crammed into the Porter's car; the Porter driving, Tyler up front, and Jay and Kim in the back. As the roar of the engine sounded, Kim looked up at Jay and embraced him. Smiling faintly, Jay kissed her on the forehead. In the front seat, Tyler sighed to himself and ran his fingers through his hair. Looking out the corner of his eye, he looked at the stoic, reserved expression on the Porter's face. Turning the car to Drive, the Porter stepped on the gas pedal and shot off. As the car began to move down the street, Kim looked up one last time at her house. There was a sorrowful, winded look on her face as she watched her house fade away further and further down the road.

-The Shelter, Manhattan-

"We've lost communication with our men," an agent told Antonella.

On the top floor, Antonella crossed her arms over his chest and shook her head in anger. Gritting her teeth, she ripped the headset from her head and tossed it down to her feet. Turning around, she was met by the image of Jay and Tyler on the large video screen on the wall. Smirking at it, she shook her head and clenched her fists in determination.

-Manhattan, NY-

In the office of a newspaper building, James Henderson set his black backpack on the ground by his feet. Unzipping it, he pulled out a black spiral notebook and flipped to an open page. Reaching into his jacket pocket, he withdrew a small, tan-colored notepad with a pen clipped to it. Taking the pen out of the notepad, he turned the pages till he got to the one he wanted. With his pen set against the black notebook, he began copying down what was scribbled onto his notepad.

At the top of the page, he wrote the name: Gabriel Fog. Beneath it, he wrote what Gabriel had told him today. There wasn't much, but it was enough to satisfy Henderson. Smiling, he closed the book and flipped his notepad closed. Setting his pen down on his desk, he reached towards his lamp and turned off the light illuminating the words on the cover of the notebook: The Fourth Branch.

At the hospital, Gabriel Fog lay in bed with his eyes open. The lights of the room were closed and the blinds were shut. It was completely silent as he lay on the bed staring into nothing. It felt as if the shadows were consuming his tired body. Lying on his lap, his hands quivered slightly as he remembered aiming his gun at his brother. Eyes glazed over, he continued staring into the darkness as he breathed heavily.

-Queens, NY-

An FBI SUV and two police cars with their sirens blaring were parked outside the Doherty residence. The FBI's black sedan was still parked outside, now with yellow caution tape surrounding it. An SUV pulled up to the sidewalk and parked. The door swung open a second later and Mr. Doherty came rushing out. He hurried up the front porch, passing by a police officer attempting to stop him.

In the foyer, another officer attempted to stop him, but Agent Rex called for him to let Mr. Doherty through. Pushing the officer away, Mr. Doherty entered the dining room of his home. Inside, the two assassins' bodies were sprawled across the floor with puddles of blood surrounding them. Mr. Doherty covered his mouth with both hands to keep from vomiting. He looked away and turned to Agent Rex. She shook her head and pointed at the dining table.

Mr. Doherty slowly strode over to the table and looked down at the notepad sitting on it. Lifting it up, an expression of sadness and distress filled his face as he read the note scribbled on it: I'm sorry. Dropping his hand to his side, Mr. Doherty sighed and shook his head. Suddenly, he burst out in anger and threw the notepad across the room at the wall. He slammed both his hands against the table and lifted it up to throw it, but Agent Rex and another agent stopped him. The angry expression on his face suddenly changed back into the sorrowful one as he dropped to both knees and began sobbing.

-Manhattan, NY-

Daniel McCarthy sat inside of a limousine as it cruised through the streets of Manhattan. Across from him sat President Shears. Shears held a glass of scotch in his hand while McCarthy leaned forward on his knees with his hands cupped together. Shears took a sip from his glass and set it against his knee as he looked over at McCarthy.

"How are things coming along with Traveler?" Shears questioned.

"They're going according to plan," McCarthy replied. "I'm not entirely convinced he's on our side yet, but he's with us for the time being."

"Good. Good," Shears muttered. "Make sure he believes our trust is real. We cannot have him questioning us."

"I'll make sure of it, sir," McCarthy replied, nodding. He paused for a moment then spoke up again. "But sir, are you sure this is the right thing to do? Bringing him in like this, we're risking a lot more than we're gaining."

"Do not question my decisions, McCarthy," Shears told him. "I am the one on the throne now, not Rosalind. Where she was weak, I am formidable. The mess she left us, it will be cleaned."

"But using Traveler just to get his grandfather? What does it get us?"

"Jamison Roth is the man standing before us and our goals," Shears said. "He's not going to take too kindly to his grandson being used as a pawn by his enemies. Traveler will smoke him out, you and your men will take him down."

-The Shelter, Manhattan-

Sitting on the edge of his new, clean, white bed, Will held onto the handle of his USP .45. He stroked the barrel of the black gun and cocked it. Aiming it forward, he stared into the tall mirror in front of him and saw his own reflection. His disheveled, murky reflection stared back at him with the barrel of the gun pointed in his direction. Will's blank expression suddenly sunk as he dropped his hand down. Loosely holding onto the gun, he leaned over his knees and ran his hand through his chopped, dark brown hair. Sighing, he looked back up at his reflection and caught his bright blue eyes. Looking away from his reflection, he turned his head towards the locked, white door and saw the dark shadows passing on the other side.

-Queens, NY-

The Porter, Jay, Tyler, and Kim all stood around the Porter's vehicle at the junkyard. The sun was beginning to set, but its rays were still bright as they illuminated the mounds of metal in the junkyard. The Porter set down a red gallon of gasoline beside the car and brushed his hands against one another.

"Someone in the neighborhood might be able to identify the car," the Porter said. "We're gonna have to lose it."

Tyler nodded and asked, "So we're walking from now on?"

"Yes," the Porter replied as he pulled out a silver lighter from his jacket pocket. Igniting a tiny flame, he tossed the lighter on top of the car, setting it ablaze. "C'mon, we have to go."

As the four walked away from the blazing fire, the Porter stopped and said, "I'm going to warn you now, it's only going to get harder and harder from this point on. They know we're coming and we know they're coming. The war has started."

"We know that," Jay replied. "We get it. Thing's aren't gonna be easy, but then again, they've never been easy."

Nodding, Tyler added, "We know what we've gotten ourselves into. We don't need you to warn us."

"Fine," the Porter replied. "There's no turning back."

"Was that ever an option?" Jay asked, half-smiling.

The Porter refused to answer as he started walking. Watching him walk away, Tyler muttered, "Guess not."

Together, Tyler, Jay, and Kim followed after the Porter. Their feet scraped against the dusty ground of the junkyard as they headed away into the city. Above them, the tip of the sun was barely visible over the horizon.


	18. Chapter 18: The Mission

Guest Starring

Carlton Fog………………William Sadler

The Porter………….…….Billy Mayo

Gavin March………….….Jim Sturgess

George Douglass……….Jude Ciccolella

Howard Shears……….…Malcolm Stewart

Maya………………………Sonja Bennett

--

**Chapter 18: The Mission**

Night was starting to turn to dawn as several commuters drove back and forth across the street in front of a tall, tan-colored building in Lower Manhattan. Jay's reflection bounced off the clear surface of the window as he stared down at the street below. Dressed in a white sweater and blue jeans, he sat by the window with his elbow resting on the wooden table in front of him. He seemed to be transfixed by something; his face was expressionless and his eyes were without thought. Hearing the sound of a door opening, Jay snapped out of his trance and turned to the bathroom door opening.

Steam escaped from the open door as Kim's long, slender legs stepped through. Wrapped in a white towel with the hotel's logo on one corner, she walked over to Jay with a smile on his face. He smiled back and gave off a sigh of relief as she stood behind him, stroking the muscles of his neck with her slim, tiny fingers.

"Couldn't sleep?" she asked as she massaged him.

"Not really," Jay sighed, closing his eyes. It felt incredibly good to be able to touch Kim like this again. His hand rested on top of hers as she pressed her fingers against his tense muscles.

Kim leaned over and kissed Jay on the cheek as she seductively whispered, "Tyler and Mr. Anselmo are gone."

"I know," Jay replied, his eyes still closed. Kim giggled loudly as she pecked at Jay's neck. An enticed smile started to cross Jay's face, but his eyes opened and he leaned away from Kim's hands.

"What's wrong?" Kim asked, surprised by Jay.

Shaking his head, Jay replied, "I don't think we should be doing this right now."

Kim gulped and pulled up the chair on the other side of the table. Sitting down, she reached over and grabbed Jay's hand. "Jay, do you know how long it's been since we've seen each other?"

"I know what we've gone through, Kim, but it's just not the right time," Jay retorted. "We should be out there trying to expose these guys for what they've done."

"We're going to get to that," Kim said. "It's not that easy, Jay."

Sighing, Jay shook his head and replied, "I think we should just get some rest."

Jay stood from his seat and began to walk over to the bed, but stopped when Kim questioned, "Do you still love me?"

Shocked by the question, Jay spun around and stared at Kim with a bewildered look on his face. "What kind of question is that?" he asked. "Of course I still love you, Kim. You know I do."

"Well it's kind of hard to see that when you won't even sit here with me," Kim replied. "We don't have to do anything, but at least talk to me, Jay!"

A sad, shameful look appeared on Jay's face and he walked back over to the table. Leaning over Kim, he grabbed the back of her chair and kissed her on the forehead. Pressing his forehead against hers, Jay grabbed Kim's face with his other hand and said, "I'm sorry. I love you. Please, believe me."

Kim couldn't help, but smile back. Licking her lips and biting her lower one, she put her hand on Jay's and moved it away from her cheek. Holding onto his hand, she began to kiss it, all the while staring into Jay's eyes. Jay began smiling as he grabbed Kim by the waist with his other arm and began kissing her. Propped up by Jay's arm, Kim grabbed his face with both hands and kissed him over and over again. They began to lose one another in their arms as the sound of panting breaths filled the room.

-Manhattan, NY-

The yellow circle glowing in the middle of the traffic light changed to red, prompting the Porter to step on the brakes of the new car he and Tyler had acquired. It was a '94 silver Toyota Camry – not much of a car, but they didn't really have the luxury of being picky. The Porter stared silently forward as he clutched the steering wheel with one hand. Beside him, Tyler was biting the nails on his right hand. Looking at the Porter out of the corner of his eye, he finally turned and looked at him directly.

"What?" the Porter immediately asked.

"That man you shot when you came to rescue me and Jay – that was my brother, Gabriel," Tyler told him.

"Yes, I know," the Porter replied. Without even looking at Tyler, he asked, "Are you going to avenge him?"

Shaking his head, Tyler said, "No. I just want to know something."

"What is it?"

"Why is he a part of this?" Tyler questioned.

"Your father had him brought in. Your father – he's quite the businessman, you know, even in his damaged state," the Porter answered.

"What does that mean? I don't understand," Tyler replied. "Of all the people these guys could send after us, why Gabriel?"

"I don't know the answer to that," the Porter answered. "All I know is that your father bargained with Freed to have Gabriel hunt you and your friends down. That's it, nothing more."

With a blank expression on his face, Tyler turned away from the Porter and stared out his window. Biting his nails and shaking his head, he grimaced at his own reflection in the side mirror and averted his eyes. The red traffic light finally turned green and the Porter stepped on the gas.

-The Shelter, Manhattan-

The whitewashed office of Antonella Ramos matched the rest of the pristine white rooms of the Shelter. It was kept clean and organized with a simple desk and computer on one side, a couch across from it, and a shelf of books against the wall. There was absolutely nothing personal kept in the office. No picture frames, no certificates, nothing. It was all business.

Antonella sat on the edge of the desk with Daniel McCarthy standing in front of her. "How's everything going with Burchell and Fog?" McCarthy questioned.

"Not as good as your operation," Antonella sighed. "Two of our men went into Doherty's residence yesterday and never came out… at least not on their own accord. Their bodies turned up in the FBI morgue's database this morning. I checked them out myself, they were our agents."

"What does this mean?" McCarthy asked.

"Well, Kim Doherty is nowhere to be found, along with Jay Burchell and Tyler Fog. I think it's safe to assume that the three of them are on the run together," Antonella answered.

"What do you plan on doing about this?"

"What do you expect me to do?" Antonella retorted, sounding offended. "There are no leads, no clues! We don't even know if they're still in the city! We're basing everything we've got on them on guess work."

"Then I suggest you find some hard leads," McCarthy replied. "My ass isn't getting bitten for this."

"I understand," Antonella sighed. "I'll handle it."

McCarthy nodded his head and started for the door. As he pushed it open, he turned and told Antonella, "Remember, we're supposed to have stopped our pursuit of Burchell and Fog in return for Traveler's loyalty. Make sure Traveler has no clue about what you're doing."

"I know," Antonella replied, nodding. She sighed and ran her fingers through her hair as she watched McCarthy close the door behind him and disappear down the hallway.

--

Will lay on flat on the bed in the middle of his room, the white blankets draped loosely over his average-built body like a toga. The lights were turned off and the only shred of light in the room came from the tiny window to Will's left. A sliver of dim light slipped through the cracks of the window blinds and reflected across Will's chest as if cutting his torso in half. His eyes remained stuck open like his eyelids were glued together. They were fixated on the shadows engulfing the white ceiling. Will's body slowly moved up and down with each soft exhale from his lips.

Will had no idea how to react to his current situation. Could he trust the people around him? Were Jay and Tyler really safe? Will's mind raced with thoughts and questions he didn't have the knowledge to answer or even entertain. For hours he had remained lying in the bed; his eyes were heavy with exhaustion, but his mind was still on the move. Suddenly, his still body jolted upwards at the sound of a knock at his door.

Standing up, Will strode over to the door to his room and unlocked it. On the other side was a young man with a pair of glasses dressed in a blue collar shirt. He carried a tray of food with him. "Here's your breakfast, sir," he said, handing Will the tray of food.

Will looked back at him with a confused look; he wasn't used to people calling him "sir". Nevertheless, he grabbed the tray of food; his stomach was already howling with hunger. "Thanks," he said to the young man before shutting the door with his elbow.

Flipping the light on, Will moved towards the table in the corner and shut his eyes. His eyes weren't adjusted to the bright lights yet, forcing him to feel his way to the table. As soon as he felt the sharp edge of the table, he set the tray of food down and opened his eyes. Rubbing his fingers against his sore eyelids, he sat down and began eating.

The tray of food contained a plate of scrambled eggs, two strips of bacon, two sausage links, and hash browns. There was a smaller plate off to the side with two slices of toast and a packet of butter on top of it. On the other side of the plate was a small, white and orange carton of orange juice. Will quickly went for the eggs and started eating. As he took a bite of the warm, fluffy eggs, his mind began to drift back to his first breakfast at Yale with Jay and Tyler.

-Yale Graduate Housing – Two Years Ago-

Will's eyes flipped open to the unfamiliar sight of a white ceiling. He felt the warm sun beating his face as he lay still in bed. Yawning, he sat up and ran his finger through his stringy, dark brown hair. Getting up from bed, he walked out of his bedroom and started down the hallway. From the top of the stairs, he could smell something burning downstairs. Furrowing his brow, he made his way to the kitchen downstairs and found Tyler inside snatching a frying pan from the stovetop. Will stared at him with a perplexed expression and walked over to his side.

Will looked down into the plate and saw the burned contents. Frowning, he asked, "How do you burn eggs?"

Tyler turned to him and glared. Shaking his head, he said, "I'm not used to cooking for myself. Thought I'd try it out. Guess it didn't turn out too good." He sighed and tossed the burned eggs into the trash. Chuckling, Will grabbed the frying pan from Tyler and put it back on the stove. "What are you doing?"

"Cooking eggs… the right way," Will sarcastically replied, smiling. He turned the flame on the stove down to a low heat and poured in some vegetable oil into the pan. "Where's Jay?" he asked as he cracked a couple eggs into a transparent bowl.

"Out getting donuts," Tyler answered. "Guess he didn't trust my cooking skills."

"Good thing," Will said, laughing.

"Haha. Very funny!" Tyler retorted, shaking his head. "Let's see you do any better!"

Shaking his head, Will beat the eggs in the bowl then hovered his hand over the frying pan to test the heat. Grabbing the bowl, he tossed its contents into the pan and let it sit for a while. As he and Tyler waited at the stove, they heard the sound of keys jiggling from the foyer. Jay came into the kitchen a few seconds later with a box of donuts from a local shop a couple miles away. He set the box down on the kitchen counter and started to take his brown jacket off.

"What happened?" Jay asked Tyler. "I thought you were the one cookin' today."

"Didn't turn out too good," Tyler shrugged with a half-smile.

Jay smiled and shook his head as he watched Will break the eggs apart in the frying pan. Leaning over Will's shoulder, Jay nodded his head and said, "Looks like you know what you're doin'."

Laughing, Will replied, "Yup. My mom wasn't around much; she was always workin'. My dad – he," Will paused for a second then continued, "he just didn't really care. I had to grow up pretty quickly."

"Hey, same with me," Jay said with a somewhat ecstatic tone. He was happy to find he had something more in common with his roommate.

Will smiled and turned to look at Jay. Nodding, he chuckled and looked over at Tyler. He nodded his head in Tyler's direction and joked, "Now, if only you weren't such a pansy…"

Jay began laughing uncontrollably as Tyler shook his head and threw a towel at Will's face. Will caught the towel with his free hand and slung it over his shoulder as he continued laughing joyously.

--

As he chewed on the scrambled eggs in his mouth, Will set his fork down and wiped the sides of his lips with a paper towel. Swallowing the eggs, he heard another knock at his door and went to answer it. Standing behind the door was McCarthy with an arrogant smile on his face. He was dressed in another black suit as nice and pressed as the one from the day before.

"How are you, Will?" McCarthy asked.

"Pretty good," Will answered, holding the door open.

Pushing the door aside with one hand, McCarthy asked, "Mind if I come in?"

Opening the door all the way, Will shrugged and said, "No, come on in."

Smiling at Will, McCarthy passed by him and walked over to the bed. Standing beside Will's bed, he watched as Will walked back over to the table in the corner.

"You need something?" Will asked as he opened the carton of juice.

"I just came in to tell you that we've got a mission set up for you," McCarthy answered.

"That fast?" Will replied. Making a circle motion with his right arm, he added, "I'm not in the best shape of my life, y'know."

McCarthy gave a slight shake with his head and said, "Don't worry. You won't have to do anything extensive. You'll be fine."

Shrugging, Will replied, "Alright. What's the mission?"

"Come to my office when you're done with your breakfast," McCarthy said. He started for the door, but stopped as soon as he had it open. Holding onto the door, McCarthy took one last look back at Will. He stared at the young man before him as he took a bite out of his toast. Chomping down on the food, Will noticed McCarthy's eyes focused on him. Looking up, he glared back at the man. Almost taunting him, McCarthy smiled and shut the door behind him, leaving Will confused and shaken.

-Manhattan, NY-

The sun was beginning to rise over the city of New York. Standing on the sidewalk across the street from the FBI Field Office were Tyler and the Porter. They were scanning the line of cars parked against the sidewalk.

"Doesn't look like it's here," Tyler sighed as he paced back and forth down the sidewalk.

"Are you sure?" the Porter asked.

"Yeah, I think I'd notice a silver Pontiac around here," Tyler sarcastically replied, pointing out most of the parked cars were black or a dark color. Shaking his head, he replied, "Unless Kim lied, then the car isn't here."

Sighing angrily, the Porter questioned, "Do you remember the license plate?"

"No," Tyler answered, shaking his head. "Why? What for?"

"We're going to have to track the car," the Porter answered with a firm, commanding voice.

Nodding, Tyler replied, "At least it won't be too hard." The Porter turned to him with a bewildered look on his face. Tyler flashed him a cracked smile and pointed his thumb back at the small sign posted behind him. It was for the towing company in charge of impounding cars on this street.

--

Jay and Kim lay on the queen sized bed, wrapped in each other's embrace. Jay wore nothing, but the white wife-beater under his shirt and a pair of shorts. Lying on top of him, Kim was dressed in a pink tank top with matching shorts. As he stared forward at the white wall across from him, Jay's face seemed to be painted blank. With her hand lying across Jay's chest, Kim stared out into nothingness as her eyes glazed over. Although it was warm under the bed sheets, the two felt cold as ice.

After laying still and silent for a few minutes, Jay broke the silence, "What happened to you?"

Kim seemed to ignore Jay for a moment, but answered, "What do you mean?"

"When they took you, what happened?" Jay questioned. Grabbing Kim's face, he forced her to look up at him. "You still haven't said a thing about it."

"Because I don't wanna talk about it, Jay!" Kim shouted angrily. Brushing Jay's hand away from her face, she sat up and turned away from him.

Following suit, Jay sat up and firmly put his hand on Kim's shoulder. "Kim, we're not going to be okay again unless you can tell me what happened!"

"I-I just can't…"

"You know I love you, Kim. You can trust me," Jay urged, reaching for Kim's face with his hand.

Pulling away from him, Kim stood up and walked away from the bed. Still lying down, Jay sighed angrily and ran his hand through his hair. As she reached the bathroom door, Kim grabbed a hold of the doorway to keep herself up. Without looking back at Jay, she muttered, "You would hate me if you knew."

As he listened to the door slam shut, Jay stared up at the closed door with a confounded expression on his face. With a mystified face and slack jaw, Jay shook his head and threw his body back against the soft bed and pillows.

-The Shelter, Manhattan-

Dressed in a gray t-shirt, dark brown jacket, and blue denims, Will walked down a brightly lit hallway to a secluded door at the end. The door was transparent, but had McCarthy's name labeled on it along with the insignia of the CIA in order to keep up an appearance. The circular emblem with the bald eagle and draped flag blocked Will's reflection in the transparent door as he stared through it. On the other side of the door sat McCarthy, reading a newspaper at his desk. He noticed Will standing outside and got up on his feet. Pressing a button under the surface of his desk, the door popped open, allowing Will to enter.

"How was breakfast?" McCarthy asked kindly.

"Good," Will sighed, scanning the office. McCarthy's office didn't look like much; there was a brown desk in the center, two chairs, a locked safe in the corner, and several filing cabinets. As he reached the front of McCarthy's desk, Will muttered, "Mind if we cut the small talk out today? Not really in the mood."

"Something wrong?" McCarthy asked, furrowing his brow at Will. He did his best to make it look like he actually cared. Will could see through the façade, though, and shook his head.

"Don't wanna talk about it," Will sighed as he sat down. "Can we just get down to business?"

Nodding, McCarthy smiled back and said ecstatically, "Of course." Reaching over to the other corner of his desk, he grabbed a manila folder and handed it to Will. "This is your assignment."

Will removed the paperclip closing the folder and looked inside. The first thing he saw was the photo of a Caucasian man in his late-fifties. The man had balding gray hair and wore a pair of wire-framed glasses over blue eyes. Will nodded and said, "Senator Douglass?"

"That's right," McCarthy replied.

"Why?" Will asked. "I was keeping up with the news while we were underground. He hasn't been making waves."

McCarthy smiled at Will and leaned forward as he sat on the edge of his desk. "You should never question orders. It leads to terrible, terrible outcomes." Pausing, McCarthy added, "Of course… you already knew that, right?"

Will looked up from the folder in his hand and shot a threatening look at McCarthy. Remembering his new position, though, Will calmed down and looked away. Flipping through the pieces of paper in the manila folder, Will asked, "When's this going down?"

"This afternoon at the President's fundraiser lunch. Senator Douglass will be in attendance. You'll strike during the dance," McCarthy calmly replied.

"Long-distance or close-range?"

"Long-distance – there's more security than our agents can handle. They've got the place covered; they'll surely spot you before you can even get near Douglass. We'll handle the distraction. You'll know when it's time to move, trust me," McCarthy answered.

"You know, that's the thing. I don't really trust you," Will replied. "What if things don't go as you say?"

Shrugging, McCarthy said, "Then you change your movements according to the change in the environment – adaptation. You're pretty good at that."

Stroking his freshly shaven chin, Will nodded and started to stand. Staring directly into McCarthy's eyes, he said, "Yeah, I am pretty good at that."

McCarthy softly chuckled in reply and said, "Hopefully we won't have to see it in action."

Turning away from McCarthy, Will headed to the door and muttered, "Hope so." Pulling the door open, he stepped out McCarthy's office after nonchalantly waving 'bye' to him with his back still turned. Through his transparent door, McCarthy watched in annoyance as Will strode back down the hallway.

-Manhattan, NY-

The Cascade Premiere Towing Company's impound lot was a large, dusty lot lined with a collection of cars. There was a blue tow truck parked in the corner and a larger black truck with a rig hitched to it beside it. In the middle of the lot was a small office with the company's logo emblazoned across the marquee. The blue paint on the building was beginning to chip. Tyler stood outside the front door, leaning against the wall, while the Porter stood inside the office, speaking with the manager.

"Here you go," the manager said kindly, handing the Porter a clipboard with a piece of paper attached to it. As he reached below the desk, he continued, "Just fill out that form and I'll be right back. I'm just gonna go get your car."

The Porter nodded at the man and flashed him a friendly, but fake smile. "Thank you," he said. The manager nodded back at the Porter and hurried away to the back of the lot to get the Pontiac.

While he waited for the manager to return, the Porter set the clipboard down on the counter and reached at the holster attached to his belt. On the right side of the belt was a holster holding a silver Colt while the other holster held a black tranquilizer gun. Pulling out the tranquilizer gun, he awaited the manager's return. Minutes later, the manager pulled the silver Pontiac up to the front of the lot and ran back to his office. Setting the car keys down, the manager grabbed the clipboard and lifted it up to his eyes.

His face scrunched up and he said to the Porter, "Um… you didn't – "

Suddenly, the Porter cut him off with a shot to the chest with the tranquilizer gun. The manager gawked at the dart that just pierced his flesh and dropped his jaw at the Porter. A second later, his eyes rolled to the back of his head and he fell to the floor behind the counter. Reaching over, the Porter grabbed the car keys and stuffed them into his jacket pocket. To cover his tracks, the Porter went around to the other side of the counter and pulled the dart out of the manager's chest. Pocketing the dart, he hurried off outside the office.

"Let's get moving," he instructed Tyler as he passed him by.

"What'd you do with the manager?" Tyler asked as he scurried behind the Porter.

"Knocked him out with this," the Porter said, raising his black gun.

"You shot him?!" Tyler shouted with a shocked face.

"It's a tranquilizer gun," the Porter revealed. Pressing a button on the keypad, the Porter unlocked the doors of the car. "He'll be fine. He'll only be knocked out for about an hour."

Stepping into the Pontiac, the Porter stuck the key into the ignition and started the car. Shifting from Park to Drive, the Porter pulled out of the impound lot and into the busy city streets.

-The Shelter, Manhattan-

A young agent with square-framed glasses, named McNulty, snapped his fingers twice to catch Antonella's attention. Looking down at her subordinate from the deck above, Antonella asked, "What is it? Did you get something?!"

"You remember that tracking device implanted into Whaley's car?" McNulty questioned. Nodding her head in reply, Antonella impatiently wanted an answer. "It's moving! Burchell and Fog must've found the impound lot. They've got the car!"

Triumphantly smiling, Antonella nodded assuredly to herself then barked, "Alright, people, our boys are on the move!" Motioning to a tall, average-sized man, she instructed, "Barkley, set up a team and pursue. Do not engage them until we've confirmed all parties!"

"Understood!" Barkley replied as he quickly strode across the room and out the door.

Turning back to McNulty, Antonella ordered, "Bring the GPS up! I wanna see their movements!"

"Got it!" McNulty shouted back as his fingers raced across the keyboard. A few seconds later, one of the screens beside Jay and Tyler's photos displayed a digital map with a blinking red dot moving along one of the lines.

-Manhattan, NY-

Crouched down in the back seat of the Pontiac, Tyler was hurriedly searching for their bag of evidence. The Porter stoically drove with his eyes straight forward on the road. Traffic was light around this part of the city so it shouldn't have taken them long to get back to the hotel. Tyler grunted angrily as he pressed his head against the carpeted floor and looked underneath the seats.

"I can't find it anywhere!" Tyler shouted.

"Check under the seats," the Porter suggested.

"I already did."

"The backseat."

"And how am I supposed to do that?" Tyler questioned.

The Porter reached down at his belt and pulled a sheathed knife out. He tossed it back to Tyler, who clumsily caught it as it tumbled to the floor. "Cut the seat out of the frame."

Looking the knife over, Tyler shrugged and stabbed it into the fabric binding the seat to the frame. Steadily, he sliced it across to the other end, listening closely to the fabric tearing apart. Once the fabric was loose, Tyler grabbed the seat with both hands and tore it out of the frame, making a loud, ripping sound. His eyes widened with shock as he held the loose seat up with his hand. Taped to the inside of the seat was a square, black device about half the size of his palm.

"Is it in there?" the Porter asked.

Tyler looked down at the seat as he gulped. Will's black backpack, which contained all their information, was stuffed into the frame of the seat. "Yeah, yeah, it's here," Tyler stuttered. "But… um… there's something else here!"

"What is it?" the Porter wanted to know. He looked up at his rearview mirror, but couldn't see what Tyler was referring to. Impatiently, he shouted, "What else is in there?!" Tyler ripped the black device from the seat and showed it to the Porter. Gritting his teeth in anger, the Porter cursed, "Son of a bitch." Staring back up at his rearview mirror, he saw a black sedan trailing behind them.

"Is it a tracking device?" Tyler asked worriedly. He climbed over the center console and dropped down into the passenger seat.

"Yes." The Porter narrowed his eyes at Tyler and tossed the tracking device out his window. "Where did you get this car from?!"

"We stole it from my brother and some blonde-haired guy," Tyler answered breathlessly.

"And you didn't think to check it?" the Porter retorted angrily. "Look behind us; there's already a car tailing us."

Frightened, Tyler slowly turned his head until he could slightly see the black sedan following them. Quickly, he snapped his head back straight and began to breathe loudly and heavily. "What do we do? What do we do?" he repeated.

"We have to lose them," the Porter answered. "Put your seatbelt on."

"What?" Tyler muttered. He couldn't hear the Porter's voice over the sound of his beating heart.

"Put your seatbelt on!" the Porter barked loudly as he suddenly turned the steering wheel sharply to the left.

-The Shelter, Manhattan-

"What's happening down there?" Antonella asked into the microphone of her headset. "Where'd they stop?"

"They haven't stopped, ma'am," Barkley answered. "They probably discovered the device and tossed it. We're following them, though."

"What's the car type and license plate?"

"It's a silver Pontiac Grand Prix; an older model. License plate number is PBT-899."

-Manhattan, NY-

Clenching his teeth, Tyler held on tightly to the strap of his seatbelt as he plugged it into the other end. As soon as he heard the click of the seatbelt, he sighed and placed his hand onto the dashboard to keep from slamming forward. Turning his eye to the side mirror, he saw the black car quickly moving in from behind. He was certain, now, that they really were being followed. He could feel adrenaline shooting through his veins as his body slammed into the door as the Porter made another sharp turn.

In the driver's seat, the Porter calmly looked up at his rearview mirror as he finished the turn. Straightening his wheels, the Porter stepped hard on the accelerator, sending the car shooting forward. There was a car in front of him, but he easily turned into the opposite lane and passed the gold four-door. The black sedan trailing them did the same and turned the next left with them.

"They're really doing this in daylight?" Tyler muttered. "There's thousands of people in Manhattan. They'll be seen."

"We're working against the government here, Fog," the Porter reminded him. "People can ask as many questions as they want, but they won't be getting any answers."

Tyler turned his head and craned his neck to see the black sedan still following close behind. "How are we gonna lose these guys? They're right on us!"

"Don't worry," the Porter answered. "I have a plan."

The Porter stepped harder on the gas as he passed by another car. Frantically switching lanes to weave through the three cars in front of him, the Porter sped straight down the street then made a wide right turn. Clutching onto the wheel, he straightened the car and accelerated forward. Looking into the rearview mirror, he saw the black sedan barreling down the street towards them. While Tyler looked rather frightened and worried, the Porter looked exactly the opposite. He remained stoic and calm as if he were in control of the situation. Quickly turning the next corner, the Porter collided with a red car as he entered traffic. The street they entered was filled with fast-moving cars. The Porter ignored the damage down to the Pontiac and sped forward. The black sedan appeared a second later and hurriedly chased after Tyler and the Porter.

Breathing heavily, Tyler stared at the road with crazed eyes and shouted, "I don't think this is a good idea!"

Ignoring him, though, the Porter switched into the lane on the left. Dozens of oncoming cars swerved out of the car's way as it sped down the road. On the opposite side of the street, the black sedan was following right beside them. Immediately, the Porter spun the wheel to the right and slammed the Pontiac into the black sedan. The black sedan fish-tailed and slammed into the car beside it, sending both onto the sidewalk. Merging back onto the correct lane, the Porter continued forward as the black sedan attempted to collect itself. Seconds later, the sedan was back on the road pursuing the Pontiac.

The Porter turned onto a road underneath the bridge and continued moving. The black sedan appeared behind it a few moments later and slammed its front bumper into the Pontiac's rear. Tyler's body jolted forward as the Pontiac shook. Staring forward, his eyes widened with fright as he saw the Porter driving straight for the column dividing the street in two.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Tyler screamed as the Porter neared the divider.

Suddenly, though, the Porter swung the car around, performing a sharp U-turn. As for the black sedan, it didn't fair as well as it slammed right into the column, smashing the front of the car into a sheet of metal. Steam poured from the destroyed engine as the Porter stepped on the brakes. Pulling the emergency brake up, the Porter unlocked his door and stepped outside with his silver Colt in hand.

"What are you doing?" Tyler shouted after him. Opening his door, he followed the Porter to the black sedan. "Hey!" Tyler shouted again.

The Porter ignored him, though, and went straight for the driver. The driver's head was drenched in blood and there was a cut going across his face. The Porter touched his two fingers to the man's neck to check his pulse; the man was dead. Walking around the back of the sedan, the Porter looked at the man in the passenger seat. It was Barkley. The Porter felt his pulse and shook him to wake him up. Barkley's eyes slowly opened and he stared directly into the barrel of the Porter's gun.

"Who sent you?" the Porter demanded to know. Barkley simply stared back at him, though. His lips remained still as blood dripped over them. "Who is in command now?" Again, Barkley did nothing, but stare back at the Porter, almost taunting him.

"He's not gonna talk," Tyler told the Porter. He'd been around enough people to know whether or not they were willing to give up information. The impervious look on Barkley's face showed he wasn't one to talk.

Narrowing his eyes at Barkley, the Porter cocked the barrel of his gun and fired a round into Barkley's forehead. Tyler jumped back with fear as blood splattered out the shattered window of the sedan. His eyes widened with horror and his mouth hung with shock as the Porter tucked his gun back into its holster and hurried back into the Pontiac.

"Hurry up! What are you doing?" the Porter shouted at Tyler as he reached the car.

Looking away from Barkley, Tyler raced back into the car. By now, he should've been used to seeing all these people dying. However, it was still a shock to see someone die so suddenly in front of him. He felt something welling up in his chest as he strapped his seatbelt on and hung his head.

-The Shelter, Manhattan-

Shouting into her headset, Antonella repeated, "Barkley! Barkley! Come in!" When no answer came, she shouted again, "Barkley! Barkley! This is Antonella. Come in!"

"Antonella," McNulty said from below, "we lost Barkley's signal."

"What?" Antonella asked. Her eyes darted up at the GPS map on the giant screen. The green light representing Barkley's team was gone.

"We just lost his signal," McNulty replied.

Taking a deep breath, Antonella craned her neck back and closed her eyes. Shaking her head in anger, she removed the headset from her head and ordered, "I want you to contact NYPD. Have them set up an APB for a silver Pontiac Grand Prix, license plate PBT-899."

--

Will stood in the weapons storage room of the Shelter across from Gavin. With his back turned to Will, Gavin unlocked one of the weapons racks and reached in for a large, black case. The black case was quite heavy and made a loud thud as Gavin dropped it on top of his desk. Examining the case, Will read the engraving on the front, which read: M24 SWS. Flipping the two locks open, Gavin opened the case and displayed its contents to Will. Inside was a stock, a barrel, several boxes of ammunition, a telescopic sight, detachable iron sights, a bipod, and several more accessories.

"You like what you see?" Gavin asked with a smile on his face.

Will nodded as he examined each part of the sniper rifle. He picked up the telescopic sight and looked through the eyepiece to see how it was. He then adjusted the elevation adjustment and windage adjustment just to make sure everything was in order. Setting the sight down, he picked up the stock of the M24 and attached it to the rest of the rifle. The M24 was slightly heavier than the sniper rifles Will had grown accustomed to using. Screwing the telescopic sight into the M24, Will held the rifle up to his face and stared through the sight.

"Well?" Gavin asked.

Nodding, Will replied, "It'll work."

"Yes, it will," Gavin said proudly. "That's a fine piece of hardware there – one of the best sniper rifles you can find. It can reach lengths over eight-hundred meters and fires at a rate of eight-hundred fifty-three meters per second."

Impressed, Will separated the parts of the sniper rifle and set them back into the case. "Sounds good," he muttered as he closed the case.

"Hey, before you take the shot with that, make sure the winds are all right," Gavin warned. "I hear it's supposed to be pretty chilly today."

"Thanks," Will nodded. "I'll take that into consideration."

-Manhattan, NY-

Jay opened the door of the bathroom as he finished zipping his blue jeans. He'd gotten dressed again; he was now sporting a white sweater under a dark green jacket with buttons running down the front. His eyes quickly turned to the shaking doorknob as the door burst open with Tyler and the Porter behind it. The two men hurried into the hotel room; Tyler quickly grabbed his things as the Porter stared up at Jay.

"We've got to move," the Porter told him.

"What? Why?" Jay wanted to know.

"They found us!" Tyler impatiently answered. "Just hurry up, Jay, and get your things. We gotta get outta here."

Tyler slung his backpack over his shoulders and started for the door until he realized something. Looking around the room, he asked, "Where's Kim?"

"She said she was going to get some food from the restaurant downstairs," Jay answered as he packed all his things into his backpack.

"C'mon, we need to hurry," the Porter said.

"How'd they find us?!" Jay questioned as he hurried out the room with Tyler and the Porter.

"The car had a tracking device," Tyler replied. "They chased us, but we got away."

"They've probably got the cops and everyone else looking for that Pontiac by now," the Porter chided in. "We dropped it a few blocks down the street. We need to hurry and get away from here as soon as possible."

"Where are we going?" Jay asked as he followed the Porter into the elevator.

"There's a safe house a few hours outside of New York," the Porter answered. "We'll head there for the time being."

"How do you know it's safe?" Jay questioned.

"Trust me, it's safe."

The elevator doors slid open a second later and the boys were met by a bellboy standing outside. The bellboy smiled at them as they nodded back and brushed past him. Tyler and Jay kept their heads low as they walked past the bellboy. Turning the corner, they headed straight for the restaurant. As they made their way to the restaurant, Kim came out holding a plastic bag full of food.

"What's going on?" she asked with a bewildered look on her face.

Jay quickly grabbed her by the shoulder and led her towards the exit. "We have to go. They've found us," Jay informed her.

Jay pushed the door open and held it ajar as Kim, Tyler, and the Porter stepped out. The four of them hurried down the stairs and to the right of the sidewalk. Jay popped the collar of his jacket to keep his face hidden as he held Kim close. Beside them, Tyler scanned the area for any suspicious-looking people. At this point, though, everyone looked suspicious to him. Walking behind them, the Porter did the same while looking for an easy car to steal. However, there was no way they'd be able to steal a car in the open like this. There were too many pedestrians walking the street and too many cars driving along for no one to notice them. As they headed down the street, the Porter noticed an entrance into the subway and motioned for his comrades to follow him there.

"The subway? Are you sure?" Jay asked.

"Yeah, a lot of people take the subways," Tyler added.

"Good. We can blend in easier," the Porter replied. "Besides, who's going to be looking for three twenty-something's and an old man on the train?"

"He has a point," Kim agreed.

Nodding, Jay sighed and headed for the stairs leading down into the subway. Surveying the area one last time, the Porter followed Jay, Tyler, and Kim down into the shadowy subway station below.

--

Inside his hospital room, Gabriel struggled to get into his clothes. Though the doctor had cleared him to be released, he still felt a little pain in his sore body. Standing straight, he slipped his arms into the sleeves of a white t-shirt. Leaning over, he grabbed a light blue dress shirt from the back of his chair and buttoned it up over his shirt.

As he buttoned the shirt up, he heard the door opening. A man in a black suit stuck his head inside and said, "Mr. Fog, you're limo's ready."

"Alright. Thank you," Gabriel nodded as he fixed the cuffs of his dress shirt. Stepping into a pair of black shoes, Gabriel hobbled out the room and into the hallway. There were two FBI agents waiting outside along with his lawyer, Wells.

"We're going to have to leave through the back exit," Wells informed his boss. "There are way too many reporters out there."

Nodding, Gabriel followed the two agents down the hallway. After being found half-dead in the alley outside Freed's apartment building, Gabriel had been labeled by the FBI as a suspected accomplice. There was no evidence linking him to any of Freed's handiwork, but his presence alone and the nasty gunshot wound on his chest was enough for Rex and the other FBI agents to label him otherwise.

Arriving outside on the loading bay, Gabriel climbed into his limousine with Wells alongside him. A minute later, the limo turned and drove away from the hospital.

Turning to Wells, Gabriel asked, "That reporter from yesterday, what was his name again? Henderson?"

"Yes, that's correct. James Henderson," Wells answered. "Why?"

"Just wondering," Gabriel replied.

"What did he ask you?" Wells questioned.

"Just about Rosalind Freed and this Fourth Branch," Gabriel replied, pretending to be appalled.

Wells scoffed at the notion and shook his head. "Load of bullshit, huh? Like there's really some shadow government running things behind the scenes. You gotta be a real nutcase to come up with a story like that, don't you think?"

Gabriel chuckled and nodded his head. "I know what you mean."

"What'd you tell him then?"

Gabriel looked at Wells and studied his face for a moment. The short, bald man looked back at him candidly. Turning away from him, Gabriel replied, "What was there to tell? I was there visiting Freed on behalf of my father and got caught in the cross-fire. I have no idea what the Fourth Branch is or if it's even real so there obviously wasn't much to say there."

Raising his eyebrows, Wells nodded and looked away from Gabriel. Looking out the tinted window, Gabriel watched as they passed by dozens of towering buildings lining the street.

Ten minutes later, the limo came to a stop in front of the Fog penthouse. The building was quite huge and tall; it was a grandiose structure with a revolving glass door and bellboys at nearly every corner. Wells attempted to help Gabriel into the building, but Gabriel shooed him away. As the limousine took off from the penthouse entrance, Gabriel walked in and greeted the clerk. She smiled back at him as he entered the elevator and rode it to his floor.

Once he reached the penthouse, he unlocked the door and stepped inside. Suddenly, he stopped and dropped his bag to the floor. Sitting in the center of his living room with a glass of scotch in his hand was Daniel McCarthy. He turned to Gabriel and smiled smugly. Gabriel, on the other hand, seemed much less casual as he pulled a gun right out of the back of his pants.

"Who are you?" he questioned, aiming the gun. He stepped forward into the penthouse and kicked the door closed behind him.

Hands up in the air, McCarthy stood up and said, "C'mon now, put the gun down. I'm not here to hurt you. I'm friends with your father."

"Who are you?" Gabriel repeated.

"My name is Daniel McCarthy," he answered. He began to reach for his holster, but Gabriel cocked his gun to stop him. Moving aside the tail of his black jacket, McCarthy said, "Easy now. I'm just taking out my gun." He grabbed his gun by the handle and tossed it to the floor. "Okay? Okay?"

"What are you here for?" Gabriel asked, his gun still trained on McCarthy.

"I came to speak with you," McCarthy said.

"Then speak."

McCarthy chuckled at Gabriel and replied, "There's quite a mess left for us to clean up, don't you think? I mean, Freed's going down, you're suspected of being an accomplice, the Chambers girl wrote an article about the Fourth Branch. Everything is just going down the drain, isn't it?"

"Yeah. So what?" Gabriel retorted. "I'm done with this. I can't do it."

With a puzzled expression, McCarthy stared into Gabriel's intense blue eyes and said, "No you're not, Gabriel. There's still a lot of work to do."

"I'm not doing it," Gabriel firmly stated.

"I think you're going to want to change your mind about that," McCarthy said. "After all, your father's in very bad condition. It wouldn't be too surprising if his heart suddenly gave out."

"You son of a bitch! If you hurt him – "

"Then you'll do what? You'll do what, Gabriel?! You gonna come after me? Huh? Is that it?!" McCarthy screamed in response. Stepping forward fearlessly, McCarthy glared at Gabriel and said more calmly, "I'm giving you one last chance here, Gabriel. You can take it or I can kill you right here. What's it gonna be?"

"I'm the one with the gun, remember?" Gabriel threatened.

"You sure about that?" McCarthy asked. Hesitantly, Gabriel held the gun against McCarthy's head as McCarthy glared back at him. Suddenly, in one fluid motion, McCarthy grabbed Gabriel's trigger hand and raised it up into the air. With his other hand, he punched Gabriel in the gut and elbowed him across the jaw. Then, he grabbed Gabriel by the side of the face and brought his face down. Driving his knee into Gabriel's chest, McCarthy snatched the gun from Gabriel's hand and pushed Gabriel to the ground. By the time Gabriel managed to look up at his adversary, McCarthy already had the gun on him.

Coughing hard, Gabriel clutched his chest and glowered at McCarthy. Grabbing Gabriel by the collar of his shirt, McCarthy pulled him up to his face and barked, "You listen to me, you're going to find your brother and his little friend and his little friend's girlfriend, and you are going to kill them all. Is that understood?!" Gabriel tried to wrestle away from McCarthy, but McCarthy pulled him close. "Was I not clear enough? You will kill them all! Is that understood?!" Again, Gabriel refused to answer. Releasing Gabriel, McCarthy stood straight up and fixed his ruffled jacket. Fixing the collar of his jacket, McCarthy stared down at Gabriel and took apart his gun right in front of him. Tossing the three pieces of the gun to the ground, McCarthy walked away from Gabriel's heaving body and casually exited the penthouse.

--

Jay looked up at the digital clock hanging above him; the red numbers read: 10:38 AM. He sat down on one of the many seats on the train beside Kim. His arm was wrapped around her as she sat quietly holding the bag of food she had bought earlier. Across from them sat Tyler who was staring down at his cupped hands. A few feet to the left, the Porter stood holding onto one of the bars. The train was crowded as usual with over two dozen commuters filed into one car. Jay, Kim, and Tyler were lucky to have found open seats amongst the sea of heads.

Clutching the plastic bag in her hands, Kim looked up at the Porter. Their eyes met for a momentary glance, but the Porter turned away a second later. Kim held her glance a bit longer as she asked Jay, "Are you sure we can trust this guy? He seems… distant – like he doesn't want us here."

"Of course he doesn't want us here," Jay replied. "He's probably used to working alone; having to work with a bunch of grad students isn't probably something he's used to. As for trust, he has saved us a couple times in the past so I'm willing to put my faith in him."

Sighing, Kim muttered, "If you trust him, then I trust him too."

Jay nodded his head and pulled Kim closer to him. As he looked up, the Porter caught his glance. The Porter nodded at him then stared at the train door, indicating they'd be getting off soon. Tyler had seen the sign as well and nodded in response. A few seconds later, the train came to a stop and the Porter made his way to the door. Tyler got up after him and exited while Jay and Kim followed suit. The four of them hopped out the train along with three other men and headed up the stairs to the street above.

"What now?" Tyler asked as he looked around the area.

"We need to find a car first then we'll head to the safe house," the Porter planned.

"That one," Jay said, pointing to a black Honda Civic down the street. It was parked along the sidewalk with no one around it. "Civic's are easy to break into."

It was strange to hear himself say that. All his life, Jay had wanted to get away from that kind of life. That was mainly his reason for becoming a lawyer. Fate had a strange way of bringing things back full circle, he guessed. Leading the Porter, Tyler, and Kim over to the black Honda, he pulled out one of Will's tools from the backpack and pried the lock open within less than five seconds. Opening the door, he hopped into the driver's seat and began to hotwire the car as everyone else got inside the car. The Porter slammed the passenger side door closed just as Jay finished wiring the car.

"Where to?" Jay asked, clutching the wheel.

"Head to Greene County," the Porter answered. Nodding, Jay switched the car to Drive and sped away from the street.

--

Dressed in a white track jacket with the collar popped up, Will stepped out of a black sedan provided to him by McCarthy. Underneath the jacket, Will wore a black sweater and a pair of blue jeans. Twirling the ring of keys around his index finger, he reached into the back seat and dragged out a large, black case for the sniper rifle. Will had parked his car on the spiraling, five-level garage on the street adjacent to the street the ballroom was on. A blue car was pulling out of the garage as Will closed his car's back door and walked over to the edge of the garage. There were quite a few cars parked on the fourth level of the garage; it was good for cover.

Setting the black case down on the ground, Will reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a black headset with a microphone attached. Placing it on his head, he pressed the button on the earpiece and said loudly and clearly, "I'm at the spot. I'm scanning the area."

On the other end, McCarthy replied, "Good. Take your time. Dinner doesn't start till thirty minutes from now."

"Understood."

Will knelt down at the edge of the garage and unlocked the case. Taking out only the telescopic sight, he aimed it down at the ballroom below and surveyed the building and its street. Hundreds of people were filing into the ballroom to have lunch with the President. The entire street was cordoned off by the Secret Service just for the people attending the lunch. Scoping out the site, Will had counted over twelve Secret Service agents positioned throughout the street. There were also four squad cars – two positioned at each end of the street with eight more policemen patrolling the sidewalks. Aiming the sight into one of the windows, Will tried to get a good look into the building. The ballroom was designed with dozens of circular tables encircling the dance floor. Each table had white tablecloth hanging over them with a name card at each seat. Will found Senator Douglass' name card and burned its position into his memory.

From what he was able to see, there were at least twenty Secret Service agents scattered throughout the ballroom. There were two back exits with two policemen at each one. Moving back outside the building, Will scanned the area for any wind markers. Luckily, there were tiny flags poking out from above the double doors. Sticking his sight back into the black case, he heard a loud commotion coming from the ballroom.

Standing up, Will looked at the sight below to see the President's motorcade arriving. There were two policemen on motorcycles leading the parade with two more at the back. The President's limousine was in the center, surrounded on the front end and rear end by two black SUVs. Will looked on as the flags on the President's limo danced back and forth to the rhythm of the wind. As the motorcade came to a stop in front of the ballroom, President Shears stepped out, accompanied by his wife, and waved kindly at everyone. He had a warm-hearted smile on his face as he walked towards the entrance, shaking hands with everybody in his path. Scoffing at the façade, Will shook his head and turned away from the edge of the garage.

-The Shelter, Manhattan-

Daniel McCarthy stepped out of a mini-control room in the Shelter and walked over to where Antonella stood. She had her arms crossed over her chest as she turned to see McCarthy coming towards her. "How is everything on your end?" McCarthy asked.

Shaking his head, Antonella replied, "Not too good. They evaded us."

"Sounds like they're good at that," McCarthy sardonically replied. Clearing his throat, he asked more seriously, "Do you have any leads whatsoever?"

"At the moment, no. Kim Doherty is projected to be with them now; our agents were found dead in their home and a letter was left written by her to father saying she was sorry. FBI have flagged her an accomplice to terrorism and are currently sending out her picture to every media outlet they can find," Antonella replied.

Impressed, McCarthy said, "Good. They're doing our work for us."

"Yeah, but you know we can't allow anyone to catch our boys, but us," Antonella reminded McCarthy. "Chambers isn't there to pick up the mess anymore. We have to eliminate them on our own."

"That's why I have you on this, Antonella. I know you can do it," McCarthy said with a smile.

"Thanks, but I don't need the compliment," Antonella replied with a smug smirk.

McCarthy chuckled and nodded his head. "Report to me when you have something."

"Got it," Antonella said. Before McCarthy walked away, though, she asked, "How's it going with Traveler? Is he working out?"

"We'll find out soon."

-U.S. Medical Center for Federal Criminals, New York-

Carlton Fog's eyes drifted up to the figure standing before him. He had been sleeping for quite some time so his head was somewhere between sleep and awake. Everything felt, looked, and sounded hazy as he opened his eyes and ears. Gulping, he felt his lips were extremely dry. Prying his lips open, he stared up at Gabriel who was standing at the foot of his bed.

"How are you, son," Carlton asked, trying to smile.

"I'm okay, Dad," Gabriel replied. "How are – "

"I heard you were shot," Carlton interrupted.

Shaking his head, Gabriel reassured his father, "It's nothing, Dad. I'm fine."

"Good. Good," Carlton repeated.

"How are you?" Gabriel asked compassionately.

Licking his dry lips, Carlton replied, "I've seen better times." He let out a soft chuckle, but it turned into a vicious cough.

Gabriel quickly sprang to his father's side and put his hand on Carlton's shoulder. Comforting him, Gabriel muttered, "Don't strain yourself too much, Dad. It's not good for your health."

"Look at me, son," Carlton coughed. "What health do I have left?"

Clutching Carlton's shoulder, Gabriel begged, "Dad, don't say that. You'll be alright. Trust me."

Although he didn't believe his son, Carlton had to nod his head in agreement. He tried to smile at Gabriel and mumbled, "It's good to see you, son."

"It's good to see you too, Dad," Gabriel replied, smiling.

"Your brother – is it done?" Carlton suddenly asked.

Gabriel reeled back in surprise then looked away from his father. He had forgotten all about the reason he came to see his father in the first place. Scratching the bridge of his nose, Gabriel said, "Tyler's still out there."

Carlton's proud expression changed into a look of disappointment and urgency. "You must find him, son. I know it hurts to hear me say this, but you have to deal with him. If not, our whole family – there will be nothing left."

Struggling to speak, Gabriel murmured, "I know what's at stake, Dad, but…"

"Listen, son, you have to do this. Please, do it… for me," Carlton said, clasping Gabriel's hand.

Gabriel clutched his father's hand tightly and bit his lower lip. Staring into his father's face, Gabriel tried to close his eyes and look away, but couldn't.

-Manhattan, NY-

It had been about an hour already since Will arrived across the street from the ballroom. He sat in the driver's seat of his car with the black case beside him. Casually sitting, he had his elbow propped up against the window and his hand clasped over his mouth. He breathed listlessly and stared silently out the window as he waited. The only sound Will could hear was his quiet breathing clouded by the low rumble of tires grinding against the paved roads below. His eyes appeared to glaze over as his mind drifted elsewhere.

-Deer Harbor, ME – Four Months Ago-

The white bed sheets were wrinkled, forming a snake-like design across the bed. Will's arms were wrapped around Maya as they lay quietly on the bed. Fingering Maya's hair, Will moved her golden locks away from her face so he could see her. Looking up at him, Maya smiled and kissed his cheek.

"How long can you stay?" Maya asked.

"How long do you want me to stay?" Will questioned playfully.

Maya looked up at him with a chuckle and pressed the side of her face against his warm chest. "I want you to stay forever."

"Then that's how long I'll stay," Will replied, smiling widely.

Maya giggled like a little girl and hugged Will tightly. "I love you, Will," she muttered.

Cupping her face in his hand, Will replied, "I love you too, Maya." Will smiled brightly at her and kept his eyes glued to hers. Maya smiled back and playfully ran her fingers across his chest like a crawling spider. In the back of his head, Will was trying to push the thought away. No matter how hard he tried to forget about it, though, it just kept coming up. He had finally found someone he could be close to, someone to love. Biting his lips, Will struggled to say, "Let's run away."

Suddenly, Maya's beaming expression turned into a look of confusion. Sitting up, she pressed her palm against Will's chest and asked, "What? Run away?"

Will sat up with her and mumbled, "Yeah. Let's just run away."

"You know we can't do that," Maya replied. She had a look of worry and surprise on her face.

"Yes we can," Will said with much more enthusiasm. Calming down, he scratched the back of his head and muttered, "There's something wrong with this –this mission. I can feel it. Something's not right."

"What do you mean?" Maya questioned.

"These guys – Jay and Tyler – they're good people. I was told they were radicals against the government, but they've shown no signs of that in the whole two years I've been with them," Will answered. "Sure they may not like how things are run, but there's no way these two could be full-on terrorists. It just doesn't seem possible."

"What are you saying?" Maya asked, narrowing her eyes at Will.

"I'm saying I'm done. I can't do this anymore," Will replied, shaking his head. "Killing people, spying on them – how am I so sure the things I'm doing are really for the good of the country? I'm saying it's time to get up and leave. I just can't take it anymore."

"Is that how you really feel?"

"Yes," Will answered firmly. "Do you honestly believe that everything they've made you do has been for the greater good?"

"I don't know," Maya replied. "All I know is that I wanna be with you forever. Wherever you go, I go."

A shy smile appeared on Will's face and he placed a comforting hand on Maya's shoulder. She leaned in for a kiss and he held the back of her head to keep her from getting away from him. Chuckling and smiling, he pressed his temple against her forehead and sighed, "Let's just… get away from here."

--

After all he'd done, Will couldn't believe he was in the palm of their hands again. He closed his eyes and shook his head as he unlocked his doors. The headset he placed on the seat beside him boomed with McCarthy's voice.

"It's time to move," McCarthy instructed.

Will grabbed the headset and placed it back on his head as he dragged the black suitcase out of the car. Striding over to the edge of the garage floor, he set the case down and began to unlock it. Staring down over the edge, Will could see several of the guests were beginning to stand up to dance. Hurriedly opening the black case, Will picked up several of the pieces of his sniper rifle and snapped them together. Finally, he attached the telescopic sight to the top of the rifle stock and lifted it up to eye level. Looking through the sight, Will aimed the M24 down through one of the windows of the ballroom.

President Shears was in the center of the dance floor with his wife in hand. The two were smiling at each other as they slowly danced to classical music. Moving the sight, Will found his mark. Senator Douglass was standing off to the side of the dance floor surrounded by three bodyguards and his wife. He had a glass of wine in his hand and joked around with his wife as everyone else danced around him. Remembering that McCarthy had set up a distraction, Will waited for his signal. Suddenly, he saw two of the Senator's bodyguards rush away from his side while the other stayed with him and radioed someone. Glancing at the flags, Will saw the flags moving westward. Adjusting his rifle to the right position, Will took a deep breath, aimed at Douglass' silver head, and exhaled. The loud bang of the sniper rifle echoed through the New York air as the single bullet soared through the window and into Senator Douglass' head. Blood splattered across Mrs. Douglass' face and the bodyguard's suit as the Senator's limp body collapsed to the floor. Everyone in the ballroom began to scream in fright. Several men and women in nice clothing hurried for the door as the Secret Service attempted to gain control.

As Will lifted his sniper rifle up, he saw several Secret Service agents hurrying across the street. Quickly, he picked up the black case and carried it over to his car along with the M24. Throwing the case into the back seat and setting the M24 on the passenger seat, Will strapped his seatbelt on and quickly started the car. Reversing out of his parking spot, Will stepped hard on the gas pedal and accelerated down the garage floor. As Will sped down the spiraling exit ramp on the fourth floor, a pair of squad cars drove up towards him. They had apparently figured out where he was and were coming to stop him. Instead of hitting the brakes, though, Will continued down the ramp and slammed into the two cars. The two patrol cars were pushed back by the impact of the black sedan and their bumpers were torn apart. Still stomping on the accelerator, Will pushed the two squad cars down as he made his way down the exit ramp.

Unfortunately, the officers in the cars pulled their emergency brakes, stopping their cars from moving. Quickly, Will opened his door and jumped out of his car. Pulling out his Heckler & Koch USP, he opened fire on the officers. Two of the officers attempted to draw their guns, but Will was too quick and fired several bullets through the windshields of the two cars. Hopping onto the hood of one of the patrol cars, Will ran over the roof of the car and jumped down to the other side. Sprinting down the exit ramp, he listened to the blaring of sirens outside the parking garage.

As Will emerged on the third floor, he saw another squad car coming his way. Lifting his gun, he fired several shots at the car and ran sideways towards the row of parked cars on the side. Jumping in between a pair of cars, Will fired another shot before he fell on his side. Climbing to his feet, Will smashed the window open on one of the cars and jumped inside. He quickly pulled the wires out from under the steering wheel and hotwired the car as the policemen in the squad car fired their pistols at him.

Breathing heavily, Will finished hotwiring the car and sat himself up on the driver's seat. Turning the car to Reverse, he backed out of the parking spot and sped through the parking garage. He drove straight towards the policemen, forcing the two of them to jump aside as he sped past them. Driving down the exit ramp, Will emerged on the first floor and was met by several squad cars and two black SUVs. The SUVs had formed a road block at the parking garage's entrance while the three squad cars pursued Will. One of them slammed right into the front side of Will's car, but Will turned right and drove around the rows of parked cars. The other two squad cars chased after him, but Will refused to quit. Pressing the gas pedal all the way to the floor, Will pushed his car to its limit and slammed into one of the black SUVs. As he pushed his way through, the men in the other SUV hopped out and opened fire on his car.

The front of the car was smashed and compressed, but Will continued driving down the road. Honking at several cars, he weaved through the maze of traffic and drove through a red light, causing several cars to honk their horns at him. The remaining SUV and three squad cars came from behind, their sirens whirring as they chased Will down. The cars driving through the intersection came to a halting stop as Will's pursuers flew through the street.

Staring into his rearview mirror, Will saw the cars coming at him. Heavily breathing, he clutched the steering wheel and made a sharp left turn. The rear of his car slammed into another car, but Will ignored it and continued driving. Through his side mirror, he could see the black SUV charging towards his car. Speeding up, Will switched into the oncoming lane, forcing two cars coming towards him to quickly swerve. One of the two cars slammed into another car while the other hit its brakes just before crashing into a parked car. The line of cars behind them all came to a stop and tried moving out of the way as Will came at them. Several drivers honked at him while others screamed out their windows. Will couldn't hear a thing, but the blaring whir of the sirens, though.

He made a sharp turn, crossing a busy intersection. A car crossing the intersection quickly stopped and honked at him as he made his way through. As one of the three squad cars came through, it slammed right into the side of the stopped car, sending both cars spinning. Ignoring their fallen comrades, the remaining two squad cars and SUV followed after Will. Speeding through the street, Will could already see the docks. The docks had fairly light traffic, but Will had to be careful either way. A car honked at him as he passed it by and cut it off. The squad cars and SUV came down the street after him, their sirens still spinning. Will made a sharp right turn and accidentally slammed into the side of a car pulling out of a parking spot. The driver began screaming and opened his car door. As soon as he opened the door, though, a squad car came by and slammed right into the door, flinging it right off.

Down the street, Will made another turn to the left and started for the docks. He saw the black SUV and two squad cars coming his way. As he clutched the steering wheel, he saw the traffic light ahead turn red. Holding on tightly to the wheel, Will flew through the intersection, causing another car to ram into his. Will's vehicle made a complete spin and ran its rear wheels up the curb as the other car accidentally slammed into one of the oncoming squad cars. One of the squad cars came to a stop alongside the black SUV and tried to corner Will's car. However, Will refused to back down and reversed onto the sidewalk, scaring a couple of teenagers walking down the street. The group of students jumped back as Will shifted into Drive and sped off down the sidewalk, slamming into a blue mailbox on the corner. The squad car and SUV remained on pursuit and followed Will down the street.

From where he was, Will could see the clear blue waters of the bay and the boats parked at the dock. Stepping hard on the gas pedal, he sped right through the street and onto the dock. As his car slid through the dock, Will grabbed a hold of the passenger side seatbelt and his own. Closing his eyes, he clenched his teeth as the car accelerated right off the edge of the dock and flew into the water below. Above, Will's remaining pursuers came to a skidding halt. The two officers in the squad car hopped out of their vehicle with guns drawn and aimed them down at the water. The Secret Service agents in the SUV got out of the vehicle and joined the officers at the end of the dock. Gawking into the cerulean waters, none of the men could see their target. All they saw was the bright red taillights staring back at them.

Under the water, in his car, Will opened his eyes and looked around him. Water was already beginning to leak into his vehicle's cabin through the tiny space in the windows. Unlocking his seatbelt, Will waited calmly as the water filled his car. Pretty soon, Will's chest was wet with water and he could feel the water level rising every second. Less than thirty seconds later, the water was nearly up to his neck. Taking a deep breath, Will dove under the water and reached for his door. Unlocking it, he pushed the door open with all his might and swam out of his car. Holding his breath in, Will swam away from his car and towards the other end of the dock. He knew the cops and Secret Service agents would still be at the end of the dock where he fell. He could already see the lights from the siren of the squad car reflecting off the surface of the water. Looking away from the lights, Will continued swimming away into the darkness.

-Greene County, NY-

Jay had been driving for about two hours until the Porter made him come to a stop in the driveway of a secluded two-story house in the middle of a forest. Opening the door, Jay stepped out onto the driveway and looked up at the front of the house. Behind him, Kim opened her door and grabbed onto him. Turning his head, Jay glanced at the Porter and guessed, "This is the safe house?"

"Yes," the Porter nodded.

"Doesn't look too safe to me," Tyler sarcastically muttered. "Look's haunted." He took a few steps toward the front porch, but stopped to check out the tiny garden in front of the house. The flowers were nearly dead and seemed to be highly dehydrated. "You should really get a new gardener," he jokingly murmured.

The Porter climbed the front steps and pulled a set of keys out from his jacket pocket. Sticking the key into the hole above the doorknob, the Porter opened the door and motioned for Jay, Tyler, and Kim to enter. The three friends headed into the house and walked through the foyer into the living room. The living room was quite spacious; there were two couches, a coffee table, a wide-screen TV, and a reclining chair in there. In the corner was a transparent sliding door that led to the back yard.

"You sure this place is safe?" Jay asked as he examined the living room.

"Yes, I wouldn't have brought us here if it wasn't," the Porter answered. "We won't be staying long, though. Just today and tomorrow. There's a shower upstairs if any of you want to clean up. There are some beds up there too in case you want to rest before we take off again."

"Where are we going after this?" Kim wondered. She walked over to one of the couches and took a seat.

"We won't be going anywhere," the Porter said. Kim, Jay, and Tyler all turned to him with a confused look. "You will be staying here." He looked at Kim then turned to Jay and Tyler and said, "The two of you are going to go with me."

"What?!" Kim shouted, standing up.

"No way!" Jay declined. "There's no way I'm leaving her alone again!"

"Then stay here!" the Porter said. "She's only extra baggage. I'm only taking you two as a courtesy; I wouldn't bring either of you two along if I wanted to."

"I can help you!" Kim interceded. "I'm not being locked up again!"

"You can help us from here if you want," the Porter replied. "There's a computer upstairs. Use it; find out facts we won't be able to find on the road."

"No! I'm no reporter; I can't dig things up like that!" Kim refused. Turning to Jay, she flashed him a helpless look and said, "Jay, please, tell him to let me go with you!"

"Why do we have to leave her?" Jay asked the Porter. "She won't be extra baggage. She can take care of herself."

"No," the Porter firmly stated. "The more people we have with us, the more people we have to worry about. You never know what people are going to do. Unless you have her handcuffed to you at all times then she stays. Besides, it's already a handful with you two coming along."

Looking glumly at his friend, Tyler sighed, "Jay… he's right. Like you said, Kim can take care of herself. Leave her here, she can handle it."

"Tyler, you're taking his side?" Jay asked as if he was being betrayed. Shrugging, Tyler refused to say anything and walked away. Sighing, Jay turned to Kim and reflected her helpless expression. "Baby…"

"No. No! I'm not staying here!" Kim defiantly screamed.

"It'll be okay," Jay said. "You hear him, this place is secure. You'll be safe here."

"I don't wanna be safe. I wanna be with you."

"It's just not gonna work right now, Baby," Jay told her. He grabbed her by her shoulders and kept her close to keep her from running away. "I promise I will be in contact. I'm not going to just leave you out here."

Shaking her head, Kim replied, "If anything happens to you…"

"If anything happened to you out there, I wouldn't be able to live with myself," Jay interrupted. Clasping Kim's face with his hand, he added, "Please, just stay here. I'd feel more relieved knowing you were in one place."

Kim took Jay's face into her hands then nodded reluctantly. Sniffling, she said, "Fine. Fine. I'll stay. Promise me you'll come back, though."

"You know I will, Kim."

"Promise me," Kim pleaded.

Kissing Kim on the lips, Jay smiled at her and said, "I promise I will be back for you."

-Manhattan, NY-

Gabriel Fog was back in the living room of his penthouse. He stood in front of the large glass sliding door that led out to the balcony and stuffed his hands into his pockets. The upper buttons of his dress shirt were unbuttoned and his cuffs were ruffled and unkempt. Staring at the gray clouds sweeping across the sky, Gabriel's fingers caressed the scrap of paper in his pocket. Pulling his right hand out of his pocket, he brought the piece of paper up to his face and read the seven digits scribbled on it. Reaching for the cellphone in his other pocket, Gabriel flipped it open and dialed the number.

"Hello?" a man answered.

"James Henderson?" Gabriel said.

"This is him. Who's this?" Henderson wanted to know.

"It's Gabriel, Gabriel Fog."

"Oh! Mr. Fog, how are you?" Henderson replied enthusiastically.

"I'd like to speak with you about something," Gabriel said calmly.

"Oh okay. Should we meet up somewhere?"

"Yes. Let's meet tomorrow for lunch at Fire Wheel," Gabriel suggested.

"Yeah, that'll definitely work!" Henderson said ecstatically. "What time?"

"Around twelve."

"Alright. I'll definitely be there!"

"Good," Gabriel said. "Bring a lot of paper. I've got a lot of things to say."

Gabriel could practically see Henderson smiling as he replied, "About what?"

Pausing for a moment, Gabriel looked away from the sky and answered, "The Fourth Branch."

-Greene County, NY-

Standing off to the side, the Porter awkwardly watched as Kim and Jay embraced one another and kissed once more. Looking away, he walked out of the living room and stepped outside onto the porch. Closing the door behind him, the Porter made sure no one would be able to hear or see him. Walking to the edge of the porch, he pulled a cellphone out of his pocket and pressed several numbers on the number pad. A second later, the phone on the other line began to ring loudly.

"I'm at the safe house with Burchell and Fog," he said. "I have their trust. I'll have them to you soon."

"That won't be needed now," the woman on the other end replied.

A confused expression appeared on the Porter's face and he asked, "What does that mean?"

"We won't need to implant a tumor into their ranks," the woman cryptically said. The Porter's eyes narrowed as he wondered what the woman was talking about. "They've already grown one for us."

Realizing what had happened, the Porter simply said, "Traveler."

-The Shelter, Manhattan-

Wrapped in a red towel, Will sat on the edge of a white chair in the Shelter's lounge. The lounge was a special area in the facility surrounded by a large window on all sides. The windows looked out over the city below at the winding street and speeding cars. There was a couch and several chairs to Will's right and left as he sat drying himself off. His shaggy dark brown hair was still a bit wet. He reached up at it with the end of his red towel and ran it across his head.

"As messy as it was, mission accomplished," McCarthy said nonchalantly from behind.

Spinning around, Will glared at McCarthy, but loosened up a second later. Sighing, he said, "Told you I'd get things done."

"And you did," McCarthy said, smiling. He took a seat on the chair to Will's right and smiled at Will.

"What?" Will asked.

"You don't wanna be here do you?"

"Of course I don't," Will retorted bitterly.

Smirking, McCarthy nodded and slumped back on the chair. Sighing, he said, "Until we win this war, you won't be going anywhere. At least, as long as you want your friends to live."

"You said you'd stay away from them if I did as you asked," Will retorted.

"Don't worry. We're just keeping a close eye on them," McCarthy said as he stood up. Smiling at Will again, he walked passed him and headed down the hallway behind Will.

Still sitting on the chair, Will sighed and ripped the towel off his back. Throwing it at the window across from him, he clenched his fists and teeth and shook his head in anger.


	19. Chapter 19: The Reporter

Guest Starring

Guest Starring

The Porter…………….Billy Mayo

James Henderson……Lance Guest

Nicole Rex…………….Rose Byrne

Jason Washburn……..Matthew Fox

Noah Weiss…………..Matthew Goode

**Chapter 19: The Reporter**

A giant crane situated on the edge of a dock reached down into the bright blue waters below. The long, tin rope plunged down into the water along with the metal contraption attached to its end. From the edge of the dock, a diver in a yellow suit jumped into the water with the crane. A man sitting in the yellow machine pulled back on a black lever as the rumble of the machine sounded off. As the rope began to reverse back up into the crane, the sound of water rushing upward filled the dock. With a sudden splash, a hunk of blue metal lifted up to the surface.

Standing off on the side of the dock, a man in a nice, black suit with a blue and gray tie watched as the car was brought up to the surface. Loads of water spilled out the car like blood as the crane moved it away from the end of the dock. With his hands stuffed in his pockets, the man in the suit looked on with his head tilted slightly sideways as if he was bored. As soon as the crane dropped the car onto the dock, the man in the suit strode over to it. Behind him, the diver resurfaced and climbed back up onto the dock.

The man in the suit stood to the side of the wrecked vehicle as several police officers and FBI agents joined him. Among them was Agent Nicole Rex. She was dressed in a white blouse with a navy blue jacket and black slacks over it. In her right hand was an open cellphone. Hurrying over to the suited man's side, she tapped him on the shoulder to gain his attention.

"Agent Washburn?" Rex called.

"Yeah?" the man asked, turning around to face Rex.

"The lab just called back. The prints on the abandoned car at the garage definitely belong to one of our boys," Rex answered proudly.

"Do they know whose they are?"

"Traveler's," Rex replied.

Nodding, Washburn turned away from Rex and looked back towards the vehicle just pulled out of the water. Pointing his chin towards the blue car, he said, "I'm pretty sure this was a stolen vehicle, but if Traveler left anything here we could use, I want it found. Have it brought back to the FBI impound lot immediately and have it checked out ASAP."

"What are you going to do, sir?"

Gazing at Rex as if it was obvious, Agent Washburn answered, "What I was sent here to do – find Traveler and his friends."

-Greene County, NY-

Pulling a white t-shirt over his head and shoulders, Jay watched warily as Kim writhed in their shared bed. Sweat dripped from her forehead and down the back of her neck, soaking the collar of her loose, white t-shirt. Squinting, Jay reached over with his hand and nudged Kim's shoulder. Suddenly, she burst awake from her dream and began scanning the room with a bewildered look on her face.

"Kim! Kim!" Jay repeated as he grasped Kim's face with both his hands. An exasperated and frightened expression plastered itself on her face as she breathed deeply. Grabbing onto Jay's wrists, she gulped and closed her eyes for a moment. "Are you alright? What's wrong?"

"I was-I was having a bad dream," Kim murmured. Letting go of Jay's wrists, she wiped the sweat from her forehead and shook her head.

"It's alright. It was just a dream," Jay said in an attempt to comfort her. Engulfing her in an embrace, he kissed the top of her head and pressed her face into his chest. Sniffling, Kim closed her eyes again and rested her head against Jay's chest.

-Manhattan, NY-

Crowds of people filed into the Fire Wheel at the strike of noon. The Fire Wheel was a nouveau riche restaurant with a stylistic flare. The lights were dim and kept to a low setting while the neon signs pinned to the wall were bright with vibrant colors. Hung above the bar was a neon red and orange sign that simply read: BAR. The bartender – a young man with gelled, black hair – tossed a bottle of liquor in the air and caught it with the translucent blue cup in his other hand. In the corner of the bar sat James Henderson with a glass of scotch in his hand. He took a large sip from the glass and set it back down. Wiping the side of his lips, Henderson looked around for the person he was planning on meeting. From where he sat, he could barely make out Gabriel Fog's wiry figure coming through the open doorway.

The bright sunlight raining in behind him made Gabriel seem like some kind of angelic messenger. He was dressed in a black and gray striped dress shirt with a pair of blue jeans. His ears were filled with the sound of contemporary jazz as he strode through the black floor. Walking over to the bar, he ordered a tall-neck beer and took the seat beside Henderson. Without so much as a look at Henderson, Gabriel began speaking.

"If I tell you the information I have, you have to promise me you will publish it as quickly as possible," Gabriel instructed. The bartender handed him a beer, which he thanked the man with.

"It'll take one week," Henderson said.

Shaking his head, Gabriel replied, "Not quick enough."

"Fine. Four days," Henderson bargained. "But I'm telling you right now, it's gonna be a well-written article."

"I don't care," Gabriel said. "As long as the information gets out there, I'm happy."

Nodding, Henderson finished off the rest of his drink and opened his black backpack. Pulling out a silver recorder, he set it on the counter and then reached back in for his black notebook. "Shall we start?" he sighed.

Gabriel finally turned to Henderson and stared right into his eyes. He gave a single nod then began, "The Fourth Branch is…"

-Four Days Later – Greene County, NY-

Dressed in a brown cargo jacket, blue jeans, and a white sweater, Jay propped his right foot up on a chair in the dining room and began to tie the white laces of his tennis shoes. Behind him, Tyler slung his backpack around his shoulder and adjusted the black baseball cap over his hair. He was dressed in a white dress shirt and blue jeans under a black jacket with a popped collar. He tossed Jay's backpack to him as Jay finished tying his shoe. At the doorway of the dining room stood the Porter, clothed in a black dress shirt, blue jeans, and black jacket. He waited for Jay and Tyler to follow before heading out the dining room and held a rolled-up newspaper in his hand.

"Where are we headed to now?" Jay asked.

"Back to New York," the Porter answered.

"To New York? We just risked our asses getting out of there and we're going straight back?" Tyler questioned with a confused look on his face.

"Things have changed," the Porter replied. He unfolded the newspaper in his hand and showed the front cover to Jay and Tyler. The headline read: _The Fourth Branch?_

"Written by James Henderson," Jay read. "Who's that?"

"I've heard of him before," Tyler interjected. "He won a Pulitzer Prize a long time ago, but after that, he's been writing shit articles for the New York Times or some other newspaper. I actually thought he was dead."

"Well, he isn't," the Porter said. "I've set up a meeting with him under the guise of a former CIA operative."

"Wait. We're meeting up with this guy?" Jay asked. "If he wrote that article, won't the Fourth Branch be out looking for him too."

The Porter turned to Jay and stated, "Sometimes you have to risk a lot in order to gain even more. We find this guy, we get him to publish some of the evidence we've found, and we'll gain even more national attention. At the same time, we'll be able to find out who gave up the information in the first place."

"Makes sense," Tyler murmured.

"Are you guys leaving?" Kim suddenly asked from the staircase. The three men turned and saw her leaning over the railing. She began to climb down the stairs as Jay silently nodded to her.

"Take care of yourself, alright?" Jay said to her as she came to hug him. "We'll be back in no time. I'll stay in touch too so you won't have to worry."

Nodding, Kim replied, "I know. You better take good care of yourself too."

"I will."

Kim smiled at Jay and nodded. Turning to Tyler, she gave him a hug and said, "Don't let him out of your sight, okay?"

Tyler nodded back and chuckled. "I thought he was the responsible one," he joked.

"You can be responsible too… every once in a while," Kim replied.

"Aww, thanks Kim," Tyler sarcastically said as he smiled at her.

Kim playfully slapped Tyler on the chest and pushed him away as she went back over to Jay. She embraced him once more and held onto him for as long as she could. Jay hugged her back and turned to Tyler and the Porter. Understanding the message, the two exited the house and went out to the car, leaving Jay with some alone time with Kim. Smiling at her, Jay said, "I promise, I will come back for you."

"I know you will," Kim replied. Nodding, she added, "I love you so much."

"I love you too," Jay said, smiling. He finally let go of Kim and started for the door. Before he could open it, though, Kim grabbed him by the wrist and stared into his eyes. "Yeah?" he asked.

"I think you should know something," Kim muttered.

"What is it?" Jay asked.

"You'll hate me for it," Kim replied, "but you need to know."

Jay stared at her with a wondrous expression and said, "I could never hate you."

Kim paused for a moment and bit her lower lip. Sighing, she finally let it out, "Before you and the guys left for your road trip, remember our last night together?"

"Yeah," Jay replied. "How could I forget that?"

"A couple days after that, I began to feel nauseated and dizzy at random times," Kim began. "I took a pregnancy test."

Jay's eyes began to widen in disbelief as he mumbled, "No…"

Nodding, Kim held back her tears and said, "It came out positive. I wasn't sure how I was going to tell you, but I knew you had to know. That's why I kept calling that night."

"Oh my God," Jay said, grabbing at his hair.

"But then… everything changed. When the Drexler blew up and you became a prime suspect, I didn't think it was important," Kim muttered. She was struggling to hold back the tears. Jay, however, hurried over to her and put his arms around her. A tear falling down her face, she continued, "I thought it would've been best to wait till you were cleared of everything."

"What happened?" Jay asked, impatient to find out the fate of his child.

"When Freed had me locked up, they tortured me."

"No…"

"I-I miscarried, Jay," Kim revealed. "I-I'm so sorry. Please, you have to forgive me."

Jay shook his head and held Kim close to his chest. Kissing her on the forehead, he said, "It wasn't your fault. It wasn't your fault."

"I'm so sorry."

Nodding, Jay held back his tears and declared, "They'll pay. I'll make sure of it."

-The Shelter, Manhattan-

Will stood in front of the giant window in the lounge. He was dressed in a navy blue and gray striped dress shirt with blue jeans. His eyes were fixated on the people moving lackadaisically below. It amazed him how people could be so close to something to huge and not know a thing about it. His reflection in the glass was suddenly joined by Antonella's reflection. Will's eyes jolted up at her reflection as she appeared behind him.

"What is it?" he coldly asked.

"How are you?" Antonella asked with a smug air.

Turning to her, Will answered, "I'm doing fine. What do you want?"

"You're not that friendly are you?"

"Not with your kind."

"My kind?" Antonella repeated. She scoffed at the idea and replied, "We are the same, Will – you and I."

Will inanely laughed at her and said, "I'm nothing like you."

"You will be." Antonella stared at Will for a second then looked away and stared at her reflection in the window. "Listen to me, Will, you stay in the business of intelligence long enough, it starts to get hard to differentiate the truth and the lies. You become disillusioned with things and the only thing you got left are orders."

"I'm not like that," Will retorted, shaking his head. "I know the difference between the truth and the lies."

"Yeah?" Antonella replied. "Well, what do you think then? Is it better to live in blissful ignorance or suffer in reality?"

Will's eyes narrowed at his reflection and he quickly snapped his head to face Antonella. "What are you talking about?!"

Antonella nodded assuredly to herself then turned around and said, "You know what I mean." Leaving Will to his lonesome, she walked away down the hall as Will watched her figure disappear down the mess of white lights.

-Greene County, NY-

Tyler sat in the passenger seat of a white Toyota Corolla. They had switched cars back at the safe house; the Corolla had been stored in the garage. While the Porter manned the wheel, Tyler sat quietly and solemnly in his seat. His elbow was propped up against the window and his head rested against his balled fist. Out the corner of his eye, he could see Jay's reflection in the side mirror. He didn't look to be doing too well and seemed to have a lot on his mind.

Breaking the silence, Tyler asked, "Somethin' wrong, Jay?"

Jay broke out of his trance and turned to Tyler. Shaking his head, he lied, "No, I'm alright."

"You sure?" Tyler pressed. "What'd Kim say?"

"Nothing. Nothing. She said to just be careful and take care of myself," Jay lied again.

Understanding his friend wanted to be alone, Tyler nodded to himself and said, "Alright. Whatever you say bro."

In the backseat, Jay gave off a loud sigh as he hung his head back and closed his tired eyes. Though they managed to get some rest for the past couple of days, he still was unable to keep his mind from turning gears the entire time. First, the discovery that Will was still alive and now learning that his unborn child was killed pushed Jay to his limits. His mind couldn't handle all the weight being pressured onto him. He sighed loudly once more then ran his hand across his forehead.

-Yale Graduate Housing – Nine Months Ago-

A young couple held onto one another tightly as the doctor handed the woman her newly born child. The TV in the living room was playing some chick flick Kim had dragged Jay into watching. This wasn't Jay's type of movie, but whatever Kim liked, he felt he had to like as well. He sat on one side of the couch with his arm around Kim as she laid her head on his chest. There was a bright smile on Kim's face as she watched the mother on the TV hugging her son tightly to her chest.

Turning her eyes up to Jay, she smiled at him and asked, "What do you want? A son or a daughter?"

"Both," Jay said. "I want a son first then a daughter."

"Me too," Kim replied, smiling. Giggling, she asked, "What about names?"

"For a boy, I wanna name him Thomas."

"Thomas?!" Kim interrupted. "That's such a generic name. Why do you wanna name your son that?"

"That's my dad's name, Kim," Jay said frankly.

"Oh," Kim muttered. Beginning to chuckle, she stifled her laugh and said, "I guess Thomas is an alright name."

Jay laughed at her and shook his head. "You don't have to lie, y'know."

"I know," Kim said, chuckling.

Laughing, Jay asked, "What about you? What would you name our son?"

"I don't know," Kim replied. "I've always liked the name Noah."

"Noah's a cool name."

"Yea," Kim said. "What about a girl name?"

"Maybe Rachel or Anna," Jay answered.

"Lemme guess, your mom's name and your mom's middle name. Right?"

"Wrong," Jay said, chuckling. "I just like those names."

"Why?"

"I don't know. They've just always sounded nice to me," Jay replied. Looking down at Kim, he asked, "What about your girl name?"

"I always liked Faith," Kim answered. "It's unique, cute – you don't hear about too many kids named Faith, right?"

"Yeah, that's a good name," Jay said. "But if we go with that for a girl, we definitely have to go with Thomas for a boy then."

"No way! That's an ugly name!"

"Hey! I listen to your opinions!" Jay jokingly retorted. "Why don't you listen to mine?"

"I do listen… when their good opinions," Kim teasingly replied. She began to chuckle as Jay grabbed and tickled her belly. Smiling up at her, Jay gave off an elated sigh and kissed her on the forehead.

-The Shelter, Manhattan-

Will stood across from McCarthy in the Fourth Branch agent's office. In his hand was a manila folder with a black clip holding it together. After handing Will the folder, McCarthy sat back and folded his hands together atop his desk. He had a smug, precocious look on his face as he read the facial expressions Will was giving as he read through the file. Will narrowed his eyes and furrowed his brow at the first page in the folder then flipped to the second one and stared down at the photograph on it. Moving onto the next page, his expression changed into a calmer, colder one.

"Well?" McCarthy asked.

Looking up, Will closed the folder and said, "Who is this guy – James Henderson? What's a reporter got to do with us?"

Scoffing at the question, McCarthy reached under his desk and pulled out a rolled-up newspaper. Handing it over to Will, he smiled and said, "Read the headline."

Will unrolled the newspaper and read the intriguing headline: _The Fourth Branch?_ Knitting his brow, Will turned back to McCarthy and asked, "How'd he get this information?"

"We couldn't find out. All we were able to dig up were anonymous sources," McCarthy answered.

"How is this going down?" Will asked.

"We intercepted some of his calls today. He set up a meeting early this morning with a man named Jonas Wells today at Grand Central Terminal at four PM. There will be a lot of people there, but I'm sure you can use that to your advantage, correct?"

Will stared at McCarthy for a moment and nodded. "I'll do my best."

"Good," McCarthy replied, nodding. Will tossed the newspaper down onto McCarthy's desk and walked away. As he headed back out the room, McCarthy called out, "By the way, the man you killed the other day – Senator Douglass – it was because he was turning us in."

Spinning around, Will looked at McCarthy with a confused face and asked, "What?"

"He couldn't handle the fire; he was going to turn each and every one of us in," McCarthy answered. "He had to be dealt with. It was the only way." Will averted his eyes from McCarthy's face and nodded slightly and silently. Turning around, he grabbed the doorknob as McCarthy added, "Trust me now?" Holding the door open as he paused, Will looked out the corner of his eye at McCarthy, but continued out the door and down the whitewashed hallway.

-Manhattan, NY-

James Henderson pressed the 'off' button on his television remote and picked up the white plate set on his coffee table. There were scraps of food and used utensils on the plate. He carried the plate down the hallway of his apartment and into the kitchen. Scraping the crumbs into the sink with the fork, Henderson set the plate on top of a pile of plates in the sink. By the looks of it, he hadn't cleaned up in a while. Aside from the filthy pile of plates and utensils in the sink, there was a full garbage bag sitting next to the garbage can on the side. On the kitchen table, there were also several plates covered with aluminum foil and paper towels to preserve them. By now, though, most of Henderson's leftovers were more like dog food.

Reaching over to the faucet, Henderson turned it on and let the water run over the tower of plates. Grabbing one of them, he took a sponge and began to clean the dirty plate. As he set the cleaned plate onto the rack beside the sink, his face seemed to explode as if remembering something.

Striding over to the white refrigerator against the wall, Henderson pointed his wet index finger at the small piece of paper taped to the fridge. There were several notes scribbled onto the lined paper. Reading with his finger as a guide, Henderson read off the last thing on the piece of paper.

"Meeting with Jonas Wells, Thursday, four PM," Henderson read, reminding himself. Nodding assuredly, Henderson turned back around and continued to clean his dirty dishes.

Outside, a pair of binoculars stared into the open window of Henderson's kitchen. Intently watching through the black binoculars was Gabriel Fog with a determined and fiery expression on his face.

-New York FBI Field Office-

"The results on the labs brought up nothing," Agent Rex said, tossing a manila folder down onto the desk of Agent Washburn.

It had only been a couple days and Washburn had already replaced Chambers. It seemed strange to Rex to have her boss replaced in that quick amount of time. First of all, Washburn didn't look much older than her and second, the search for Chambers was already put on hold. She eyed Washburn strangely as he gazed down at the folder and disregarded it.

Agent Jason Washburn was a young FBI agent in his early forties with close-shaven brown hair and green eyes. He wore a dark gray suit with a white undershirt and a black and white striped tie. His handsome face carried a blank expression as he reached over at the folder and slid it off the edge of his desk. Agent Rex's brow narrowed in confusion as she stared at the fallen pieces of paper.

"Um… is something wrong, Agent Washburn?" Rex asked, confused and scared.

"We're moving away from the investigation of the vehicles," Washburn told her. "Something new has come up."

"What is it?" Rex wanted to know anxiously.

Reaching behind him, Washburn picked up a folded newspaper and flipped it open to show Rex. Jabbing his index finger on the headline of the front page, he declared, "Our new lead: James Henderson."

"What does he have to do with our investigation?" Rex wondered.

"Look closer," Washburn said. "About a week ago, a news article appeared in a college newspaper with information about a shadow government known only as the Fourth Branch. It didn't receive much circulation, but it was covered by the media for quite a bit. Now seven days later another article about the same subject appears in one of the city's biggest newspapers? I don't think that's a coincidence, do you?"

"No, sir, but what are we supposed to do about this?" Rex questioned.

"I've got some of our men tracking Henderson already. He meets up with his contact, we'll be sure to intercept them," Washburn answered, nodding.

-Somewhere Outside NYC-

The white Toyota Corolla was parked outside of a local convenience store in a small town outside New York. Tyler's back leaned up against the store's orange wall as he played the role of lookout for Jay and the Porter. The two men were inside of the convenience store grabbing supplies they'd possibly need for the long road ahead. A middle-aged man in a brown jacket walked past Tyler on his way into the store. Tyler tried to look away from the man, but the man made eye contact with him. Awkwardly smiling, Tyler nodded to the man as he opened the door and stepped inside the store.

Getting jittery, Tyler began tapping his foot nervously against the sidewalk. The Porter and Jay had been in the store for over five minutes now. For the life of him, Tyler couldn't figure out why it was taking them this long. Checking his watch, Tyler saw the minute hand strike the sixth minute. Suddenly, he jumped off the wall as the door flung open. Holding his chest as if grabbing his heart, Tyler saw Jay and the Porter exit the store.

"What took so long?!" Tyler demanded to know.

"Get in the car," the Porter ordered, ignoring him.

Scratching the back of his head, Tyler hopped into the passenger seat of the Corolla while Jay got into the back seat. "Anyone see you?" Tyler asked, looking at Jay through the rearview.

Jay shook his head and said, "Don't think so. How 'bout you?"

"This man that passed by stared at me for a sec, but I think we're cool," Tyler agitatedly replied. Just as he said so, the same man came out and headed over to their car.

Surprised, the Porter reached for the gun at his holster as the man knocked on his window. Lowering his window, the Porter looked over at the man and said, "Hi."

Tyler gawked at the handle of the gun and nervously tapped his finger against his knee. The man outside the car noticed Tyler's agitation and looked at him strangely. However, he seemed to ignore Tyler and turned back to the Porter. Reaching into his jacket pocket, he said, "I think you left this." Pulling out a black wallet, he handed it over to the Porter.

Letting go of his pistol, the Porter smiled back at the man and took the wallet from him. "Thank you," he said, smiling brightly. His cold, callous demeanor completely transformed into a bright, expressive one.

The man nodded back to him and smiled as he turned around and walked back into the store. Sighing, Jay ran his fingers through his hair and mumbled, "That was close."

Nodding, the Porter started the car's engine and pulled out of the parking spot. As he shifted to 'Drive', he looked at his two companions and declared, "No more stops."

-Grand Central Terminal-

Grand Central Terminal was a vast, exquisite example of grandiose architecture surrounded by urban structures on all sides. A sculpture of two men kneeling before an angel stood guard over the entrance of the subway station with a bright, golden clock underneath it. The light gray hue of the building was subdued by the array of taxicabs driving around it. Scattered about the collection of taxis were several other cars and trucks. A black Hummer honked its horn at the silver Toyota Camry in front of it and crossed the street as a biker pedaled down the sidewalk. Dozens of people were moving along the sidewalk, some holding onto the railing for support and others hurrying down the street to catch their train.

Amongst them was Will Traveler. Sporting a black trench coat with straps on the shoulders and gold buttons down the front, Will casually walked down the sidewalk beside dozens of other pedestrians. Underneath the coat, he wore a white, long-sleeved sweatshirt and blue jeans. His left hand was stuck in his coat pocket, but his right hand carried a black, leather briefcase. The briefcase swung back and forth to the rhythm of Will's footsteps as he neared Grand Central Terminal.

The Bluetooth earpiece around Will's right ear burst with sound as Antonella relayed, "Calling to confirm the headset is working. I repeat – "

"Yes, it's working," Will said, annoyed. "Mind setting the volume down a little?"

"No problem," Antonella replied sarcastically. "How far are you from the designated vantage point?"

"Five minutes, give or take," Will answered. "Are our cameras up?"

"Yup," Antonella said. "MTA's given us approval to use all their security cameras. Our eyes are all over the place."

"Good. I don't want things to get chaotic like last time."

"Then don't do anything stupid," Antonella warned. "You stick to the plan, do what you're supposed to, and you'll get outta there clean."

"I want to confirm something," Will muttered.

"Go ahead."

"This James Henderson guy – you sure it's best to take him out right away? I mean – we don't even have his contact. It just doesn't seem procedural to just eliminate him without getting everything on him," Will said reluctantly.

There was a brief pause then… "Stick to the plan, Traveler," McCarthy's voice interceded. "You've received your orders, just follow them. If we questioned every order we were given, we'd still be at square one."

Sighing, Will mumbled, "I understand."

--

Along the sidewalk, a yellow taxicab stopped and out stepped James Henderson, wearing a maroon sweatshirt and black slacks with a charcoal gray jacket. Slung around his right shoulder was a backpack carrying his journal, notepad, pencils and pens, and laptop. Handing the driver a wad of cash, Henderson slammed the door behind him and headed towards the entrance of Grand Central Terminal. Apprehensively scanning the area, he brought himself to walk through the entrance and into the main hall.

The vast stretch of gold tiling was filled with commuters walking back and forth through the lobby. A giant red, white, and blue flag hung from the center of the ceiling, pointing down at the circular customer service desk below. The gold accent of the desk illuminated the already-gleaming building.

Henderson pushed past a group of youngsters carrying skateboards as he made his way through the main hall. His body nervously shook as he made his way to the spot the Porter, or Jonas Wells as Henderson knew him, designated as their meeting spot.

--

Outside Grand Central Terminal, Gabriel Fog parked his car along the sidewalk. Reaching over to the passenger seat, Gabriel picked up a black Ruger MK III with an integrated suppressor. Beside it was a small, black magazine containing .22 Long Rifle bullets. Gabriel shoved the magazine into the underside of the Ruger and shoved it into the holster at his waistband. Dressed in a dark blue dress shirt with black slacks, Gabriel stepped out of his car and slammed its door shut as he hurried across the street towards the entrance.

Along the way to the entrance, he noted a white van parked down the street from the subway station. There were two black sedans parked in front of it and behind it. Gabriel was sure they belonged to the FBI. Turning away from them, Gabriel passed by an old man and his grandson as he entered Grand Central Terminal.

--

Inside the white van parked on the sidewalk, Agent Washburn sat in front of a wall of monitors. The agent beside him wore a headset around his head and swept his fingers across a black keyboard. In the seats behind them were Agent Rex and two other agents.

"How's everything going?" Washburn asked, turning to Rex.

"Our men are at their positions. Henderson's made his way into Grand Central Terminal, but he's still on the move," Rex quickly answered.

"Alright," Washburn nodded. Climbing over to the other side of the agent next to him, he grabbed his own headset and placed it around his head. Positioning the mic by his mouth, he said into it, "All agents, safeties on. We don't wanna cause a panic in there. Selective shooting only; shoot only when necessary, but no kill shots. I want the contact and the reporter both alive."

"Yes, sir," one agent relayed.

"Henderson has stopped moving, sir," another agent interjected. "He's at the lower east concourse."

--

Gulping, James Henderson surveyed the lower east concourse for anyone looking suspicious. At the moment, though, everyone was looking quite suspicious. Though he'd met with anonymous tippers before, this was the first Henderson ever felt frightened or anxious. Nothing this big had ever come his way; he was going to expose the truth about the government. Sighing uneasily, Henderson moved the cuff of his right sleeve out of the way and checked the time on his silver Rolex. It was already three-fifty-eight PM. Two minutes and the meeting should be underway.

Scratching the back of his head, Henderson took another glance around the room. A man in a blue baseball cap and blue jacket walking towards him caught his eye, but looked away a second later. Henderson could feel his body trembling as the man in the cap passed by him several seconds later. A relieved sigh escaped his lips as the man passed by without trouble. Suddenly, though, he felt a hand grab his inner elbow and thrust him forward.

"Follow me," a gruff voice commanded. The voice was familiar, but Henderson couldn't place it.

"Wells? Are you Jonas Wells?" Henderson gasped as he stumbled across the floor to the other end of the concourse.

"Yes," the voice answered. Turning to his right, Henderson looked at the stone-cold visage of the Porter. The Porter didn't even look back at him as he led Henderson through the crowd of commuters in their way.

--

"Henderson is on the move, sir," an agent said into the microphone. "Should we follow?"

"Yes. Keep him in your sight," Washburn ordered. "We're not letting him get away."

In the lower east concourse, the man in the blue baseball cap turned around and walked along the wall, all the while keeping an eye on Henderson. A few steps ahead of him, another agent in a black business suit strode across the floor towards Henderson and the Porter. At the other end of the concourse, a third agent reading a newspaper folded it up and stuck it under his armpit as he made his way across the concourse.

--

Along the high walls of the concourse was a large poster advertising a men's cologne. It was the kind of ad that split into several panels then folded back to reveal another advertisement. Watching through the tiny slits in between the panels, Will moved the scope along the direction Henderson and the Porter were moving.

Remaining calm and steady, Will watched the Porter lead Henderson to a crowded part of the concourse. Will was unable to tell the man leading Henderson away was the Porter, though, as he had worn a baseball cap to preserve his identity. Obviously, the Porter had predicted others would be watching the meeting go down. It was brilliant of him to surround himself and Henderson with dozens of other innocent civilians. Will was beginning to feel a bit worried when several men and women passed through his crosshairs. Keeping his finger on the trigger, though, Will watched as the Porter turned around and his face came into view.

Immediately, Will moved his finger away from the trigger and gazed down at the Porter with a look of confusion. "What the hell," he muttered under his breath. His eyes widened slightly more as two figures appeared in front of Henderson. One was wearing a familiar Chicago Cubs hat while the other wore a gray sweater with a hood over his head. It was obvious to Will, though, that these two figures were his best friends: Jay and Tyler.

Quickly, Will pressed the button on the side of his headpiece and said, "You told me Jay and Tyler would be kept out of this!"

"What are you talking about?" McCarthy asked dumbfounded.

"They're here!" Will said angrily. The panels of the advertisement folded over, shining light into Will's face. "They're the ones meeting with the reporter!"

-The Shelter, Manhattan-

Taking his headset away from his mouth, McCarthy placed the mic close to his chest and turned to Antonella. "Burchell and Fog are at Grand Central Terminal," McCarthy told her.

"Should I get on it?" Antonella asked.

McCarthy nodded and said, "Get our nearest men to their location right now! Traveler may think they're safe, but we need them!"

"Understood," Antonella replied. Spinning around, she pushed aside an agent on a computer and began typing away on it.

Behind her, McCarthy placed his headset back around his head and said to Will, "Will, do not let their appearance hinder you. This mission is of utmost importance."

"My friends are of utmost importance!" Will retorted.

"Calm down, Will," McCarthy said calmly. "Your friends aren't going to be hurt. Just do your job and finish the mission."

-Grand Central Terminal-

Henderson looked at the three men standing before him. Scanning their faces, he realized the two young men that just appeared before him were the infamous Jay Burchell and Tyler Fog. His heart began to pace faster than ever and he could feel adrenaline begin to pump through his veins. His head was telling him to make a run for it, but there was no way he was going to let a big story like this get away because of his fear. Jittery, he extended his hand out for a handshake.

Ignoring the reporter's trembling hand, the Porter stated in a commanding voice, "Look behind me to the right. Near the staircase, there's a man in a brown jacket reading a newspaper."

Henderson peered past the Porter's head and saw the man standing there against the wall. Nodding slightly, he asked, "What about him?"

"Now look further to the right where the man on the bench is. Do you see him?"

Moving his eyes away from the man with the newspaper, Henderson spotted the man in the business suit sitting on the bench. He appeared to be waiting for something. "I see him," Henderson said in a hushed tone. "What's this about?"

"These two men are FBI agents," the Porter revealed. "Waiting at the platform behind you is another agent in a blue cap. Don't look, but know he is there."

"H-How do they know I'm here?" Henderson muttered, sounding out-of-breath. He felt his body shaking more than before and he felt the urge to run.

"They must've bugged your phone line or followed you. Either way, we're going to have to make this quick," the Porter said. "Who gave you the information for that article?"

"I thought I'm supposed to be asking questions here," Henderson retorted.

"Answer the question or we're gone!" Jay told him, speaking up.

Gulping, Henderson shook his head and said, "That's confidential. I can't tell you!"

"You could be in danger," the Porter warned Henderson. Stepping forward, he said, "If you don't tell us who gave you this information, we won't be able to help you. We won't be able to help each other."

Looking around him, Henderson surrendered, "Gabriel Fog." He looked over at Tyler and noticed the bewildered look on his face.

"What did you say?" Tyler asked, stepping towards Henderson.

"It was Fog! He contacted me and told me everything!" Henderson said.

Confused, Tyler turned to the Porter for an answer. Taking a look around the concourse, the Porter said, "He used you."

"What? What's that mean?" Henderson asked right away.

"You're his bait! He used you to lure us out here!" the Porter said. Eyeing the FBI agents out of the corners of his eyes, the Porter turned to Henderson and ordered, "Turn yourself in to the FBI right now. You need as much safety as possible."

"No way! How's it safe to turn myself in?"

"It's better than being hunted down by the people that are after us," the Porter told him. "Now, go!"

Swallowing the mounding saliva in his mouth, Henderson turned around and started for the FBI agent in the blue cap. With each step he took, he felt his body getting heavier. He took one last glance at the Porter, Jay, and Tyler as he neared the FBI agent. He reached his hand out to tap the man on the shoulder, but suddenly stopped as the sound of a crippling gunshot rang throughout the concourse. His hand outstretched, Henderson saw speckles of blood spit out at his arm. Instinctively, he caught the body of the FBI agent as he fell back onto him. There was a hole in the agent's head the size of a quarter. Arms shaky and eyes wide, Henderson's head began spinning around the room searching for help.

The other two FBI agents immediately stood up and hurried towards Jay, Tyler, and the Porter. However, another gunshot rang out and the agent in the business suit fell to the floor. The third agent dropped to the ground and pulled out a handgun. He pointed it at Jay and Tyler, who took off sprinting down the concourse. The agent let off two shots, but the Porter took him down with one shot to his right shoulder. A grunt escaped the agent's lips as he fell back onto the floor.

"C'mon! Go! Go! Go!" the Porter shouted as he escorted Jay and Tyler away from the concourse.

-The Shelter, Manhattan-

"What the hell just happened?!" McCarthy screamed in anger, pointing at the large screen across from him.

"Traveler's comm.-unit is down," an agent said. "We've lost contact with him."

"Son of a bitch!" McCarthy shouted. Turning to Antonella, he asked, "How far are your men from the area?"

"ETA is two minutes!" Antonella shouted. "They're nearly there!"

"Order them to grab Traveler along with Burchell and Fog! Take the third man out!" McCarthy instructed.

"Yes, sir!" Antonella replied as she pressed a button on the side of her headset.

-Grand Central Terminal-

Behind the large advertising poster in the concourse, Will was beginning to separate his sniper rifle. The panels of the ad turned again, revealing Will huddled in the shadows. Sticking the stock into the black briefcase, he shoved the scope into its slot and locked the case. Picking it up, he hurried away from his hiding spot. As he walked down through the dark, narrow passageway, a man in a black jacket appeared before him. He lifted his handgun up and pointed it at Will.

"Freeze, Traveler!" the man said. "We've got orders to detain you!"

Will moved towards the man, acting confused, and asked, "What are you talking about?!"

"I said, freeze!" the man shouted. Suddenly, Will swung the black briefcase at the man's hand, knocking the handgun out of his hand. In one swift movement, Will pulled his Heckler & Koch USP out of his holster and fired two bullets into the man.

Appearing in the lower east concourse, Will became surrounded by a multitude of men, women, and teenagers screaming and charging towards every exit they could find. As he stopped to survey his environment, he noted several Fourth Branch agents. They weren't bothering to act inconspicuous; most of them were calmly walking through the ravenous crowd of people in search of Traveler, Fog, and Burchell. Will counted about five of them. Ducking into the mob fleeing towards the nearest exit, Will hurried away down the left wing of the concourse where he last saw Jay, Tyler, and the Porter run off to.

--

From the other end of the concourse, Gabriel could see the hundreds of people rushing towards him. Hiding behind a pillar on the side, he scanned the crowd of people for his brother and his friend. He noted Tyler and Jay running alongside the Porter surrounded by other men and women. Reaching down at his holster, Gabriel pulled out his Ruger and cocked the barrel. Handling it with both hands, he turned and aimed the gun at his brother's head. Shakily, he trained the gun on Tyler, but his finger quivered as he reached for the trigger. Biting his lower lip, he finally pulled the trigger. There was a loud, banging sound that echoed throughout the concourse, causing several men, women, and children to scream in fright and duck to the ground for security.

Running alongside Tyler, Jay felt blood splatter against his face and turned to his chest. Tyler had fallen to the ground by Jay's feet. "Tyler!" Jay shouted as he bent down. Behind him, the Porter drew his weapon and began searching the crowd for the shooter. "Shit!" Jay muttered as he grabbed Tyler and turned him over. He was still awake and conscious, but blood was dripping from the wound on his left shoulder. He reached up with his right hand and clasped it around the wound.

Gritting his teeth, Tyler tried his best to ignore the pain as Jay helped apply pressure to the wound. Holding Tyler's head up with one hand and pressing down on the wound with his left hand, Jay looked up as he noticed Gabriel pointing his gun at them. Lifting his left hand, Jay pointed at Gabriel and alarmed the Porter, "There!"

The Porter quickly turned his gun on Gabriel and fired off a shot. The shot barely grazed Gabriel as he dove back behind the pillar. Firing two more shots, the Porter headed towards the pillar. Keeping the gun aimed forward, the Porter neared the pillar. Before he could reach the other side, though, Gabriel snatched his left wrist and slapped the handgun out of his hand. Pulling the Porter towards him, Gabriel twisted the Porter's left arm behind his back and grabbed the Porter with a headlock. However, the Porter elbowed him twice with his free arm and slammed Gabriel's back into the pillar, forcing him to loosen his grip. As Gabriel's headlock eased, the Porter grabbed his arm and tossed him over his shoulder. Gabriel fell hard on the ground as the Porter reached for him. Before the Porter could grab him, though, Gabriel pulled out his gun and fired a bullet into the Porter's right thigh. Staggering back, the Porter held on to the pillar for help. Climbing to his feet, Gabriel pointed the gun at the Porter and cocked it.

Suddenly, another gunshot rang off and Gabriel dropped the Ruger to the ground. Standing on one knee, he turned to his left and saw Will standing over Jay and Tyler with his USP trained on him. There were only a few people left in the concourse with them. Most of the people had run off. Grasping his wounded left forearm, Gabriel glared at Will as the young man started towards him.

"Stand up and let me see your hands!" Will ordered as he rushed over to Gabriel. Letting go of his bleeding arm, Gabriel climbed to his feet and raised his arms in the air. With his gun still trained on Gabriel, Will began patting him down for any additional weapons. As he searched Gabriel's body, he looked back at the fallen Porter. He was leaning against the pillar and clutching the bleeding wound on his leg. Turning away from the Porter, Will felt a set of car keys in Gabriel's left pocket. Snatching them out of Gabriel's pocket, he jingled them in front of him and asked, "What kind of car is it?" At first, Gabriel refused to answer; he simply scowled at Will as Will pointed the barrel of his gun at Gabriel's face. Grabbing Gabriel by the collar, Will shook him and shouted, "What kind of car is it?!"

Begrudgingly, Gabriel answered, "Black four-door Benz."

"Where's it parked?" Will shouted.

"Right across from the entrance along the sidewalk," Gabriel murmured. Will nodded in response and palmed the car keys.

Suddenly, he heard a rumble of footsteps from behind and heard a man shout, "Freeze, Traveler! We've got you and your friends surrounded!"

Looking around, Will realized the five Fourth Branch agents had reached him. Two of them were circling him from either side while the other three surrounded Jay and Tyler. One of them had Jay by the collar of his shirt with a gun to his head. Jay gritted his teeth and quivered as he felt the cold barrel touch his head. He looked desperately at Will as if begging his friend to save him.

Appearing shaken and hesitant, Will looked back at the men surrounding him. "It's over!" the agent shouted. Will's eyes shifted through the concourse as he turned the gears in his head. Before he could think of any plan, though, Gabriel chopped his inner elbows and threw an elbow at his face. Ducking the elbow, Will elbowed Gabriel in the gut and blocked a punch by grabbing it. Twisting Gabriel's arm behind his back, Will kicked the back of his left knee and put him in a headlock.

Pointing the barrel of his gun at Gabriel's head, Will glared at the men surrounding him and threatened, "Let them go or I blow his head off!"

The Fourth Branch agents paused for a moment before the unit's leader retorted, "We don't need him." He lifted his gun up to shoot Gabriel, but was stopped when a booming voice soared over his head.

"Freeze!" Agent Washburn ordered from the entrance of the concourse. Turning his head towards the entrance, Will saw Washburn and Rex accompanied by several other FBI agents. They all had their guns drawn and aimed at the Fourth Branch agents. "Put your guns down and surrender or we will open fire!" Washburn added. He kept his gun trained on the leader of the Fourth Branch agents and closed in on them.

As the FBI agents neared them, the Fourth Branch agents all lifted their hands in their air. One by one, the five of them loosened their grips on their guns. Each gun began to swing by the index finger of the agents as the FBI inched towards them. However, the five agents quickly spun the guns on their fingers and aimed them back at the FBI. Simultaneously, the five of them let off several shots at the FBI agents coming towards them. Washburn dove to the ground while Rex jumped behind a pillar as the five agents fired away at them. Aiming his gun up, Washburn began to open fire. Behind him, two other agents along with Rex joined the fray.

To the side of the concourse, Gabriel used the opportunity to elbow Will in the groin and smash the top of his head against Will's jaw. As Will staggered backwards, Gabriel spun around and kicked him in the gut. Will's back slammed against the wall as Gabriel rammed his shoulder into his chest and elbowed him twice in the gut. Gabriel went for a third time, but Will caught his elbow and twisted his right arm. Sneaking behind Gabriel, Will grabbed the base of his throat and tripped his legs with his right foot. In one swoop, Will threw Gabriel hard onto the ground and pointed his gun down at him. Before he could shoot, though, a bullet flew at his head from behind. Diving to the floor, Will landed with a roll and turned around to shoot his enemy. A bullet went through the right shoulder of one of the Fourth Branch agents as Will slid behind a pillar and aimed his gun at the man.

On the other side of the pillar, the Porter crawled around beside Will and cocked his gun. To their side, the FBI agents and Fourth Branch agents were still gunning for each other. One of the Fourth Branch agents went down as a bullet penetrated his left shin. He collapsed to one leg, but continued firing. In the center of it all, Jay clutched Tyler as he dragged his body away. A bullet zipped passed him, but it barely missed him as he fell on his side. Tyler let out a groan as Jay fell on his body. Grabbing Tyler by his shirt, Jay lifted him up and dragged him to the adjacent wall.

Behind the pillar, Will turned to the Porter and tossed him the car keys he'd stolen from Gabriel. "Take Gabriel's car and get Jay and Tyler out of here!" Will ordered.

"What about you?" the Porter asked as he took the keys from Will.

"What about me?" Will asked as he opened fire on the Fourth Branch agents.

As the Porter turned away from Will and scurried across the concourse, Washburn and his comrades reloaded their weapons. From behind a row of chairs along the side of the concourse, Washburn jammed a magazine into his 10mm and cocked it. Raising it, he aimed for one of the five agents hiding behind a pillar and fired several shots. Two of his shots missed, hitting the pillar, but the third hit the man in the side. As the man collapsed to the floor, Washburn climbed to his feet and fired another bullet into the man's chest.

Behind Washburn, Rex finished reloading her weapon and shot at the remaining Fourth Branch agents. One of them popped out from behind a counter to shoot, but was shot down by one of the two FBI agents next to Rex. Out of the corner of her eye, Rex noticed an agent appear and aim his gun at Washburn who was shooting at another enemy. Aiming her gun steadily, Rex fired two shots and hit the man square in the chest. She watched the agent's body collapse as Washburn shot twice at the man diagonally across from him. He missed, however, as the man ducked behind a pillar.

From behind one of the pillars, Will aimed his gun at one of the Fourth Branch agents and shot him in the back. The man fell to the ground where Will fired another bullet at him. There were only two agents left. Reloading his gun, Will scanned the area for either of the two and found one hiding on the side of a counter. He aimed at the man and opened fire. His first shot missed, but the second one hit the agent dead in the face. Blood spat across the air as the agent fell on his back on the ground. After killing the agent, Will scanned the concourse for Jay, Tyler, and the Porter. They were making their way out towards the right-hand exit. As he searched for his friends, he noticed Gabriel had disappeared as well. Sighing, Will cocked his gun and waited for an opening.

Soon, the sound of gunfire stopped. Immediately, Will popped out from behind the pillar and aimed his gun at the last agent left. The agent noticed him and aimed his gun at him, but Will fired off a shot before he could get hit. The Fourth Branch agent stumbled backwards and Will shot another bullet at him, causing his body to collapse to the floor. With the last agent down, the FBI agents made their way towards Will.

"Come out, Traveler! We've got you surrounded!" Washburn told him. He stalked towards Will's hiding spot with his gun aimed forward. Pointing to his men, he ordered them to surround Will.

Breathing heavily, Will closed his eyes and moved out of his hiding spot. As he did, Washburn and the other agents immediately aimed their weapons at him. However, he quickly dropped the USP to the ground and raised his arms up in surrender. "I surrender," he said, defeated.

"Good. Good," Washburn repeated. As he reached for the handcuffs attached to his belt, he turned to the two other agents and said, "McKinley, Marsden – the two of you check the bodies."

The two agents nodded their heads in agreement and walked over to dead bodies around them to check for survivors. Meanwhile, Washburn and Rex slowly made their way towards Will in the center of the concourse. With the handcuffs in one hand, Washburn holstered his weapon and grabbed Will's left wrist. He twisted Will's arm behind his back and snapped the handcuffs around Will's left wrist. As he went to close the other one around Will's right hand, Will suddenly headbutted him and punched him in the gut. Though her gun was aimed at Will, Rex couldn't get a clear shot as Will grabbed Washburn by the neck and snapped the other handcuff around his left wrist. With Washburn as his hostage, Will glared at Rex and the two agents whose guns were trained on him.

"Put your guns down or I break his neck!" Will threatened as he tightened his grip around Washburn's throat.

"Don't listen to him!" Washburn rasped. "Shoot him now!"

His three fellow agents all looked at him perplexedly as they aimed their guns at Traveler. Will knew what was going to happen. He began to make his way towards the exit as the three agents watched him helplessly.

"What are you doing?!" Washburn screamed. "Shoot him! Rex!"

Rex shook her head and set her gun down. Turning to McKinley and Marsden, she ordered, "Put your guns down! We're not losing another agent!"

"Damn it, Rex!" Washburn shouted. He opened his mouth to say more, but Will slammed the butt of his gun against Washburn's neck.

"Stay there!" Will ordered as he hurried back towards the exit. The whole time he dragged Washburn to the exit, Rex and the other two agents helplessly watched him escape. At the doorway, Will shot the handcuffs off his wrist and left Washburn's body on the ground. Turning around, he quickly took off running down the street.

-Manhattan, NY-

In the rush of pedestrians attempting to run from Grand Central Terminal, Jay, Tyler, and the Porter had managed to sneak into Gabriel Fog's car. They were now speeding down the street with Jay at the wheel while the Porter sat in the backseat clutching his wounded leg and tending to Tyler's shoulder wound. As he was forced to stop in traffic, Jay turned to his comrades and checked on them.

"How is he?" he asked about Tyler.

Looking up from Tyler's wound, the Porter answered, "He'll be fine. We need to stop the bleeding, though."

"How do we do that?" Jay hurriedly asked.

"We have to get to a pharmacy quick," the Porter instructed.

Nodding, Jay turned back around and pulled out of traffic to make an illegal u-turn. He remembered seeing a pharmacy a few blocks back. A car coming his way came to a screeching halt and honked its horn at him as he raced off down the street.

--

Inside the pharmacy, Jay popped the collar of his brown jacket and headed over to the front counter with a basket of items. Setting the red basket on the counter, he reached into his back pocket for a wallet, all the while trying to keep his face away from the cashier. He seemed agitated and anxious as he stood trembling at the counter. Jay licked his dry lips and tapped the fingers of his right hand against his thigh as he watched the cashier scan his items.

As one last beep from the scanner sounded, the cashier looked up at Jay and said, "Thirteen-seventy-seven." Nodding, Jay opened his wallet and pulled out a twenty-dollar-bill. He handed it to the cashier who took it and stuffed it into the cash register. As he pulled out Jay's change, his eyes turned up towards Jay's face and he asked, "Hey, do I know you?"

"Huh?" Jay replied.

"Do I know you? You look really familiar," the cashier said. His hand was holding the cash register open, but he had already found Jay's change.

Shaking his head and frowning, Jay replied, "No, I don't think so."

"You sure?" the cashier pushed. "I swear I've seen you somewhere before."

Shaking his head once more, Jay said, "Doubt it. I don't live around here. I'm just visiting a friend."

Nodding, the cashier replied, "Oh, I see. Alright. Well, here's your change then. Six-twenty-three."

Taking his change back from the cashier, Jay smiled and nodded at him. "Thank you." Turning around, he rushed out of the store and back into the car parked outside. Immediately jumping into the car, he tossed the bag of items back to the Porter and started to pull out.

"Where are you going? I need to fix him up," the Porter said from the back.

"The cashier remembers me from somewhere. We gotta get outta here before he realizes who I am," Jay answered. "Can't you start on him while I drive?"

Grunting, the Porter nodded and said, "Alright. Get us to a hiding spot fast."

Nodding, Jay turned the wheel and entered traffic. "I will."

--

A large, silver subway train sped through the dark tunnels beneath the city of New York, slithering like a snake. The bright lights at its head guided the train through the rattling rails. Inside one of the cars was Gabriel Fog. Seated in a corner by himself, he clutched his left arm. He had taken off his shirt and wrapped it around the wound to hide the bleeding, but someone was sure to notice it sooner or later. Fortunately, there weren't too many people in the car he'd gotten into. Most of them were sitting at the front of the car too. There were only three people seated around him. Closing his eyes, Gabriel laid his head against the window and continued clutching his forearm.

-Grand Central Terminal-

Agent Washburn sat on a bench in one of Grand Central Terminal's concourses as an EMT worked on the wound on the back of his head. There was a slight cut, but it wasn't too serious. He felt a sting as the EMT put an alcohol pad onto it and rubbed the wound. Biting his teeth together, Washburn endured the pain. As his eyes stared down at the linoleum tiles on the floor, he watched a pair of feet coming towards him. Looking up, he saw Agent Rex standing before him.

"What do you want, Rex?" he grunted.

"I just got a call from the Field Office," Rex notified her superior. "I sent them pictures of some of the men we shot."

"And?"

With a concerned look on her face, Rex gulped and said, "They ID'd some of 'em as CIA agents."

A bewildered look appeared on Washburn's face and he began to stand up. The EMT working on his wound jumped back as Washburn climbed to his feet. Staring at Rex with a confused expression, he asked, "You're kidding me, right?"

Shaking her head, Rex replied, "No, sir. They were CIA agents."

"What else did you find?" Washburn eagerly questioned.

"Nothing. The rest of their files were classified and locked and we didn't have clearance to open them."

"Why would CIA agents be involved in this?" Washburn wondered.

Shrugging, Rex replied, "I don't know, sir. Maybe-maybe they had orders to apprehend Traveler."

"But why? That's our job," Washburn said. "The CIA was never involved in this case. It's not even in their jurisdiction."

Turning her eyes away from Washburn, Rex said, "I'll do whatever I can to find out why. I can talk to some of our superiors, see what they have to say about it."

"Good," Washburn nodded. "I have a contact in the CIA. I'll see if she knows anything."

Agent Rex nodded in agreement to Washburn then turned around. Before she could walk away, though, Washburn called for her to return. Turning around, she looked at Washburn with a questioning look.

"Next time, Rex, you better shoot," he stated firmly.

-The Shelter, Manhattan-

In the lounge, McCarthy stood in front of the panoramic window with a cellphone close to his ear. He listened to the sound of the phone ringing on the other end as he awaited an answer. The Shelter seemed empty. No one was walking around; there was no sound coming from anywhere. It was absolutely silent. Suddenly, McCarthy said, "It's McCarthy, sir."

"What is it, Agent McCarthy? How is it coming with Traveler?" President Shears' voice asked.

"Unfortunately not too good, sir," McCarthy replied, shaking his head as if Shears could see it. "He's being somewhat complacent, but he's still a problem."

"Then solve the problem."

"It's his friends, sir. They're the reason he does this," McCarthy answered.

"Then affirm his belief that his friends will be left alone."

"Not to question you, sir, but I think I have a better idea," McCarthy replied.

"And what would that be?"

"The only way Traveler will do as we say is if he knows his friends are alright…or at least in one piece," McCarthy said.

"What are you suggesting, McCarthy?"

"I'm suggesting that we apprehend Burchell and Fog and use them as leverage. Take them as prisoners. Make sure Traveler does what we need him to do."

"If you're going to capture Burchell and Fog, then you better get moving. Your people aren't exactly doing what needs to be done," Shears told him.

Smiling, McCarthy stared at his reflection in the window as he replied, "Don't worry, President. I've already got someone on it."

"Who?"

Confidently, McCarthy answered, "Noah Weiss."

-Manhattan, NY-

James Henderson was frantically running around his apartment, trying to stuff as many essentials as he could into a brown duffel bag. Clothes, books, documents, pencils – everything, he threw in there. His heavy breathing echoing through his small apartment, he rushed to zip the duffel bag open and lifted it up off his bed. Slinging the bag around his shoulder, he walked passed his desk and grabbed a black briefcase. Gulping, he headed over to the door and shakily opened it. Suddenly, he jumped at the sight of a young man standing on the other side of the door.

"Holy shit!" he screamed.

The young man jumped as well and raised his palms in front of him as a sign of peace. "Oh my God. I'm so sorry, sir," he excused himself. "I didn't mean to surprise you."

Running his hand through his hair, Henderson tried to calm down and breathe slower. The young man flashed him an awkward, friendly smile as he apologized. Henderson blinked a few times before taking in the young man's appearance. He looked like any other young man his age. His dark brown hair was short and ruffled, but he had a handsome, boyish face with vibrant blue eyes. Sporting a white dress shirt under a navy blue blazer, even his clothes were fine and pressed. The only defect Henderson could detect with the young man was a grim scar running from the right side of his temple across the bridge of his nose down to the bottom of his left cheek. Henderson's eyes were attracted to the large scar as he held the door open.

"It's-it's fine. It's fine. What do you need?" Henderson asked.

Nodding, the young man replied, "Oh yeah. I'm actually here to show you a product I'm selling."

Scowling at the young man with an angry face, Henderson shook his head and retorted, "No. No! I have somewhere to go! I'm sorry."

"Please, sir, it'll only take a short minute. Please, just take a look!" the young man pleaded as he reached into the black bag slung from his shoulder.

Shaking his head vigorously, Henderson replied, "No, I'm sorry! I have to leave!"

"Wait! Wait! Please!" the young man urged.

"No! I'm sorry, but I have to – "

Suddenly, Henderson heard a quiet, dull tap like a dart hitting the bull's eye and stared straight forward into the young man's cold, blue eyes. He blinked his eyes a few times as he took in the stinging pain welling up in his stomach. With a confused and shocked expression on his face, Henderson stared down at his stomach. There was a gun pressed against it with a suppressor attached to it. Looking back up at the young man before him, Henderson opened his mouth to moan, but suddenly, he felt another bullet enter his stomach. His body jerking upwards, Henderson staggered forward and fell onto the young man's left shoulder.

With his left hand caressing Henderson's back, the young man pulled the silenced gun away from Henderson's gut and holstered it. He began to drag Henderson back into his apartment as he said in a soothing voice, "It'll be alright. It'll be alright. You can go now."

Henderson's breathing began to become raspy and his chest heaved up and down unnaturally. Blood dripping out his mouth and the wound on his gut, Henderson felt his body getting cold as the young man set him down on the couch. Laying the reporter down, the young man stood up straight and reached into his pocket for a cellphone.

As Henderson lay dying in front of him, the young man dialed a number on his phone and waited for an answer. As soon as he heard a voice on the other end, he began, "This is Weiss…"

On the couch, Henderson could hear Weiss' voice fading away as it got duller and duller with each second. Soon enough, he could see Weiss' lips moving, but there was no sound accompanying it. A second later, he couldn't even see Weiss anymore. Everything was a blur. Then, nothing.

-Manhattan, NY-

Parked in the third floor of an underground parking garage was Gabriel's car. Jay was sitting in the driver's seat, staring back at the Porter as he nursed Tyler's wound. Lying on his back, Tyler cringed at the stinging alcohol touching his still-bleeding wound. He grunted a little, but did his best to ignore the pain. After wiping the wound clean, the Porter finished wrapping the wound up with gauze. As he taped the gauze down to Tyler's skin, he felt something vibrating at his side. Realizing it was his phone, he grabbed it and stepped outside the car.

"I have to take this call," the Porter told the two boys. Looking over at Jay, he ordered, "Stay here and keep an eye on him."

"I can take care of myself," Tyler retorted. "It's not like I'm gonna go anywhere anyways."

"It's fine. I'll stay with him," Jay intruded.

Nodding, the Porter shut the door behind him and took a few steps away from the car. He wanted to make sure Jay and Tyler wouldn't be able to tell what he was talking about. As he stood on the other side of a pillar, he flipped open his cellphone and answered.

Inside the car, Jay glanced up at the Porter while Tyler began to sit up. Propping himself on one elbow, Tyler turned his head to look at the Porter.

"What do you think he's talkin' about?" Tyler asked.

Shaking his head, Jay answered, "I have no clue."

"Who do you think it is?"

"Let's hope it's someone who can help us," Jay simply replied.

Behind the pillar, the Porter muttered, "We're going to have to move quickly. Things got hectic today."

"I know. I'll get right on it."

"Are you sure he's willing to play?" the Porter questioned.

"Of course. Traveler is in this to save his friends and fix things. He'll bite."

"Alright. Make sure he has everything he needs."

"I'll make sure of it."

"Good," the Porter said before hanging up. Closing the phone, he clipped it back onto his belt and walked back towards the car.

-The Shelter, Manhattan-

Somewhere in the long, empty corridors of the Shelter was a small, white cell with clean, white walls and a single, made bed. There was nothing else in the room other than the small bed. Sitting on the edge of it was Will Traveler dressed in a white t-shirt and gray shorts. His wrists were handcuffed together in front of him as he sat on the edge of the bed, staring at the empty white wall before him. Suddenly, he heard footsteps outside his door and saw the door handle turn. The door opened to reveal Antonella on the other side with a callous look on her face.

"What do you want?" Will demanded to know.

Ignoring Will's questions, Antonella began, "You know, if you had just done as you were told, you wouldn't be in this mess."

"You and your friends told me Jay and Tyler would be safe. What happened to that, huh?!"

"Things change, Traveler," Antonella retorted.

"Yeah right! I'm pretty sure you guys have had this planned the whole time, right?" Will barked back. "I'm done playing your games! You can do whatever you want to me."

"Games are for children," Antonella said. Grabbing Will by the collar of his shirt, Antonella lifted him up on his feet and stated, "This is war."

"I've heard that a million times," Will scoffed.

Letting go of Will, Antonella stepped back and asked, "Do you want to win?"

"What?" Will asked with a perplexed expression on his face.

"How far are willing to go to win this war?" Antonella questioned.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Snatching up Will's hands, Antonella stuck something in the palm of his right hand and closed it. "What is this?" Will muttered as he opened his hand to reveal a USB flash drive.

"It's your weapon," Antonella replied.

"My weapon?" Will repeated. "What the hell are you talking about? What is this for?!"

Smirking, Antonella shook her head and replied, "Still don't get it?"

"Get what?!" Will angrily questioned.

"The Baron sent me," Antonella revealed. Will's eyes widened in shock as Antonella continued, "I've been undercover infiltrating Shears' half of the Fourth Branch for five years. My new mission is to help you bring it down."

Speechless, Will simply stared at Antonella. Opening his mouth, he shakily said, "Wh-What am I supposed to do?"

"Once you're allowed back into your room, use the computer and plug that flash drive into it," Antonella said. "I trust you'll understand how to do the rest."

"Why now? Why didn't you give me this from the start?!" Will retorted.

"Because Will, you messed up. Like I said, if you had done what you were told, we wouldn't be in this mess," Antonella replied. "You should've killed Henderson, allowed Anselmo to take his remaining evidence from him. If you had done as you were told, you wouldn't be in this predicament and we'd be a step closer to achieving our goal."

"You're telling me the whole meeting today was set up so the Porter could get his hands on Henderson's info?" Will gasped.

Nodding, Antonella crossed her arms over her chest and told Will, "You've got work to do."


End file.
